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\ 


PUBLISHERS’  ANNOUNCEMENT. 


An  untold  amount  of  misery  and  crime  springs  from  an 
Ignorance  of  the  nature  and  proper  hygienic  care  of  the  sex¬ 
ual  function  in  man.  Hitherto  there  has  been  no  reliable 
work  in  the  language  on  this  subject,  written  in  a  popular 
style,  and  with  proper  motives.  This  long-felt  want  is  sup¬ 
plied  in  the  most  complete  manner  by  this  volume.  Its  au¬ 
thor  is  well  known  as  an  experienced  regular  physician  and 
able  writer,  and  his  work' has  been  indorsed  by  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  physicians,  divines,  and  educators  in  the 
land. 

The  topics  which  it  treats  are  those  about  which  every 
man  wants  information,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  brief 

SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  BOOK. 

The  first  part  treats  of  the  peculiar  function  of  the  male, 
describes  the  period  of  puberty  when  this  function  begins, 
and  gives  the  rules  of  health  at  this  time.  The  author  then 
passes  on  to  virility,  or  the  period  when  this  function  is  most 
vigorous ;  describing  its  signs,  the  causes  that  hasten,  and 
those  which  delay  the  loss  of  it,  the  effects  which  certain  di& 

(  i  ) 


ii  publishers’  announcement. 

eases,  occupations,  and  exercises  have  upon  it ;  the  food  and 
drinks  which  strengthen  it,  and  those  which  weaken  it.  The 
instructions  “  How  it  can  be  prolonged,”  are  especially  valu¬ 
able  to  middle-aged  and  elderly  men.  The  sexual  passion  is 
analyzed,  and  two  full  chapters  given  on  the  drugs  which 
stimulate  and  those  which  moderate  desire.  ■ 

The  second  part  is  on  the  single  or  celibate  life,  and  con¬ 
tains  matter  which  every  parent,  clergyman,  and  educator 
should  be  conversant  with.  After  speaking  of  the  advan¬ 
tages  and  disadvantages  of  unmarried  life  from  a  medical 
point  of  view,  the  author  proceeds  to  discuss  four  important 
questions,  chiefly  concerning  young  and  unmarried  men. 
These  are  the  solitary  vice  (self-abuse),  spermatorrhoea , 
secret  diseases ,  and  the  social  evil  (prostitution). 

In  reference  to  the  first  of  these,  the  consequences,  the 
-prevention,  and  the  cure  of  the  destructive  habit  of  self¬ 
abuse  are  detailed  fully,  and  in  plain  language. 

Spermatorrhoea  is  treated  of  under  the  headings  “  What 
brings  it  about  ?”  “  How  to  prevent  it,”  and  “  How  to 
cure  it.” 

The  two  most  frequent  secret  diseases  are  described 
briefly  and  clearly  ;  their  effects  on  a  man  and  on  his  children 
explained ;  means  of  prevention  and  treatment  are  men¬ 
tioned,  and  the  very  important  question  answered,  “  How 
soon  ought  a  man  to  marry,  who  has  been  diseased  ?” 

The  chapter  on  prostitution  is  written  with  especial 
reference  to  the  United  States  ;  the  number  of  falleD  womeu 


PUBLISHERS7  ANNOUNCEMENT.  Ill 

in  the  different  cities  and  the  classes  into  which  they  are 
divided,  are  described.  The  questions  where  they  come 
from,  how  they  live,  and  what  becomes  of  them,  are  an¬ 
swered,  and  the  various  plans  for  their  reform  are  discussed. 

The  third  part  of  the  book  is  on  the  Married  Life.  Every 
man,  either  married  or  contemplating  marriage,  will  find 
here  information  which  he  would  not  be  without  for  very 
many  times  the  price  of  the  book.  The  part  opens  with 
advice  in  reference  to  the  age  best  for  marriage,  the  choice 
of  a  wife,  the  dangers  (physical)  of  long  engagements,  etc. 
A  section  is  given  to  the  consummation  of  marriage,  and 
the  obstacles  to  it,  both  on  the  part  of  the  female  and  the 
male.  The  latter  the  author  divides  into  four :  First, 
Lethargy  of  the  organs ;  second,  Debility ;  third,  Impo¬ 
tence;  and  fourth,  Sterility.  He  explains  the  nature  and 
causes  of  each  of  these  conditions,  and  adds  the  special 
treatment  which  they  require. 

The  next  chapter  is  on  the  marital  relations.  Tim 
dangers  of  excess  are  pointed  out,  and  the  rules  of  modera¬ 
tion  laid  down. 

The  nature  of  conception  is  then  explained,  and  an  ex¬ 
tremely  interesting  chapter  given  on  the  avoidance  and 
limitation  of  offspring.  Not  less  interesting  to  married 
people  are  his  full  and  explicit  directions  how  to  have  mah 
or  female  children  at  will.  The  rules  given  are  strictlj 
scientific,  and  are  also  applicable  to  domestic  animals,  stock 
horses,  etc.,  and  will  therefore  doubly  interest  most  peopk 


IV  \  PUBLISHERS*  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

\ 

In  the  chapter  on  inheritance  the  author  tells  what 
parents  can  do  to  avoid  having  diseased,  deformed,  and 
weak-minded  children,  and  to  have  those  which  are  hand- 

v 

some,  healthy,  and  intelligent. 

The  subject  of  nervous  disorders  originating  in  the 
male  generative  system  is  one  of  intense  interest,  and  is 
treated  in  a  practical  manner. 

The  chapter  entitled  “  medical  views  on  popular  medical 
instruction”  shows  the  awakening  interest  in  the  profession 
on  the  importance  of  this  theme,  and  the  danger  to  the 
public  of  leaving  it  in  the  hands  of  ignorant  and  unscrupu¬ 
lous  writers. 

The  article  on  the  relation  of  the  sexes  in  early  life  is 
one  that  should  be  read  by  every  parent  and  teacher. 

The  discussion  on  the  relation  of  sex  to  disease  will  be 
found  of  interest. 

A  general  summary  of  the  moral  relations  of  the  sexes,  as 
set  forth  in  the  Bible  and  by  theological  writers,  closes  the 
work. 

The  book  will  be  found  thoroughly  practical.  It  is  in¬ 
tended  for  self-help,  and  contains  a  number  of  valuable 
receipts. 


This  Work  is  sold  exclusively  by  Subscription.  It  can 


BE  OBTAINED  ONLY  OF  THE  0-a.NVASSING  AGENTS. 


T  II  E 


TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


COUNSELS  ON  THE  NATURE  AND  HYGIENE 


OF  THE 

MASCULINE  FUNCTION. 


B  Y 

GEOEGE  H.  NAPHEYS,  A.M.,  M.D., 

Member  op  the  Philadelphia  County  Medical  Society  ;  Corresponding  Member  op 
the  Gynaecological  Society  op  Boston  ;  Author  of  “  The  Physical  Life  op 
Woman,”  “Modern  Therapeutics,”  “Letters  from  Europe,”  Etc. 


“Nos-e  omnia  haec  salus  est  adolescentulis.”— Terentius. 


■Net!)  (Button. 

WITH  THE  FINAL,  CORRECTIONS  AND  ADDITIONS  OF  THE 
AUTHOR,  AND  WITH  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

H.  C.  WATTS  CO. 

506,  508  &  510  MINOR  ST. 

1880. 


t 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1878, 
By  D.  G.  BRINTON, 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington- 

All  rights  reserved. 


M  licit 

tiio 


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% 

4 


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H. 

& 


TO  THE 

REV.  JOHN  TODD,  D.  D.5 

WHOSE  EFFORTS, 

DURING  A  THIRD  OF  A  CENTURY, 

IN  ELEVATING  THE  CHARACTER  AND  EDUCATION 

OF  THE 

YOUNG  MEN  OF  OUR  COUNTRY, 

VE  WON  FOR  HIM  AN  ENVIABLE  FAME, 

Sins  %‘orlt 

IS,  WITH  PERMISSION. 

MOST  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


C  v  } 


AUTHOR’S  PREFACE. 


The  opportunities  afforded  by  a  professional 
practice  in  a  large  city,  as  well  as  information  de¬ 
rived  from  many  parents  and  educators,  nave  led 
the  author  of  this  work  to  believe  that  a  great 
amount  of  suffering  and  crime  would  be  avoided,  did 
young  men  and  those  who  have  the  charge  of  youth 
more  clearly  understand  the  nature  and  hygiene  of 
the  function  of  their  sex. 

It  is  in  this  department  of  medicine  more  than 
in  any  other  that  the  unscrupulous  charlatan  finds 
a  congenial  field,  because  here  he  is  favored  by  the 
general  ignorance  and  the  natural  diffidence  of  his 
victims.  Absurd  and  exaggerated  statements  have 
been  forcibly  thrust  upon  the  public,  not  to  allay, 
but  to  excite  groundless  fears.  These  it  has  been 
the  author’s  aim  to  dispel. 

On  the  other  hand,  real  and  serious  evib  result 
both  to  the  individual  and  the  community  from  a 

m 


8 


PREFACE. 


vitiation  of  the  laws  of  this  as  of  any  other  func¬ 
tion.  They  have  repeatedly  "been  adverted  to  by 
physicians  and  educators,  but,  out  of  a  mistaken 
delicacy,  so  vaguely  that  the  intended  warnings 
have  been  of  little  avail.  The  author,  therefore, 
has  endeavored  to  write  in  terms  that  cannot  be 
misunderstood,  and  yet  that  shall  not  offend  by 
want  of  refinement. 

Fearing  that  he  might  not  have  accomplished 
this  difficult  task,  he  has  submitted  the  advance 
sheets  of  the  work  to  the  Rev.  John  Todd,  D.  D., 
the  eminent  author  of  u  The  Student’s  Manual,” 
the  K  Index  Rerum,”  and  other  highly  prized  works 
for  students ;  and  to  other  distinguished  educators. 
Their  commendations  have  encouraged  him  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  his  efforts  have  been  successful,  and  that 
they  will  prove  of  re?J  value  to  those  for  whom  this 
book  is  designed. 


EDITOR’S  PREFACE  TO  THE  PRESENT  EDITION. 


At  the  time  of  the  decease  of  the  author  of  this  work  he 
had  under  contemplation  a  new  edition,  with  various  en¬ 
largements.  Several  of  the  topics  he  had  treated  of  assumed 
more  importance  as  a  wider  experience  of  life  taught  him 
the  follies  and  weaknesses  of  his  fellow  men. 

It  has  been  thought  best  to  group  these  additions  in  the 
form  of  an  Appendix,  rather  than  to  incorporate  them  in 
the  body  of  the  book.  While  this  has  been  done,  the  text 
itself  has  undergone  careful  examination,  and  whatever 
errors  noted  have  been  corrected,  and  general  statements 
altered,  where  necessary,  into  accordance  with  the  progress 
of  medical  science. 

The  very  high  estimation  in  which  this  book  has  been 
held  by  so  many  of  the  best  authorities  in  the  land,  does 
away  with  the  necessity  of  any  praise  of  it  on  the  part  of 
the  present  editor.  It  is  sufficient  to  point  to  the  testi¬ 
monials  which  accompany  the  volume,  to  see  its  rank  and 
character. 

1878. 


I 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


OF 

GEORGE  HENRY  NAPHEYS,  M.D. 


Were  man’s  life  measured  by  his  deeds,  as  the  poet  sug¬ 
gests,  how  brief  would  be  the  long  years  of  many  an  octo¬ 
genarian,  and  how  extended  the  short  span  which  has  been 
allotted  to  not  a  few  of  the  world’s  famous  heroes  ! 

This  oft-repeated  thought  strikes  us  forcibly  in  consider¬ 
ing  the  biography  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Closing 
his  life  at  an  age  when  most  professional  men  are  but  begin¬ 
ning  theirs,  he  had  already  studied  broadly,  had  traveled 
widely  over  two  continents,  had  gained  credit  and  fame  by 
the  sword  and  the  pen,  and  had  amassed  a  fund  of  erudition 
and  experience  which  the  more  lethargic  lives  of  most  men 
fail  to  approach  after  twice  his  length  of  days.  It  is  emi¬ 
nently  appropriate  that  a  record  of  .his  busy  career  should 
be  attached  to  the  works  on  which  his  celebrity  is  chiefly 
based,  and  in  which  he  most  conspicuously  displays  that 

1 


11 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


command  of  language  and  happy  facility  of  imparting  in¬ 
struction  for  which  he  was  so  remarkable. 

George  Henry  Napheys  (pronounced  Na'feez,  the  a  as 
in  fate)  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  March  5th, 
1842.  His  parents  died  while  he  was  still  at  a  tender  age,  and 
he  was  placed  with  some  relatives  who  resided  in  the  city. 
From  early  years  he  was  characterized  by  quick  perceptions 
and  a  retentive  memory.  In  the  Philadelphia  High  School, 
from  which  he  received  the  academic  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  he  was  considered  the  best  scholar  in  his  class,  a 
marked  distinction  in  view  of  the  large  numbers  which 
attend  that  institution.  Besides  acquiring  the  usual  studies 
of  the  High  School,  he  gave  considerable  time  to  phono¬ 
graphy,  in  which  he  became  so  skilled  that  he  could  report 
any  ordinary  speaker  with  entire  accuracy.  This  subse¬ 
quently  proved  a  great  advantage  to  him  in  his  medical 
career. 

After  his  graduation  he  repaired  to  Hartford,  Conn., 
where  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  position  of  private 
secretary  to  a  gentleman  of  prominence  in  the  literary  and 
religious  world.  • 

Thus  he  was  engaged  when  the  civil  war  broke  out. 
With  his  natural  warmth  of  feeling  and  strong  emotions,  he 
entered  the  fray  among  the  first,  and  went  out  as  Lieut  er. 
ant,  and  subsequently  as  Captain,  Companv  F,  Con¬ 

necticut  State  Volunteers.  The  regiment  was  enlisted  for 
nine  months,  and  was  dispatched  to  Louisiana,  urenerai 


■BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


HI 


Banks  then  commanding  the  Department.  It  participated 
in  engagements  near  Baton  Bouge  and  on  the  Bed  Biver, 
in  which  Captain  Napheys  always  acquitted  himself  with 
bravery  and  credit. 

At  the  time  the  regiment  was  disbanded,  an  early  prefer* 
ence  for  medical  subjects  led  him  to  devote  a  year  to  the 
preliminary  studies  of  that  profession,  but  not  Waiting  the 
full  period  required  for  a  degree,  he  was  appointed  assistant 
medical  officer  on  the  U.  S.  steamer  Mingo,  of  the  South 
Atlantic  Blockading  Squadron.  On  her  he  passed  a  number 
of  months,  cruising  off  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas  and 
Georgia,  and  ascended  the  St.  John  river. 

These  active  duties  prevented  him  from  receiving  his 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war,  when,  in  18G6,  his  diploma  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the 
most  renowned  institutions  of  our  country. 

After  graduation,  he  opened  an  office  in  Philadelphia, 
and  connected  himself  with  the  clinics  which  are  held  at 
the  College  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  medicine  and 
medical  advice  to  the  poor  gratuitously,  as  well  as  for  giving 
students  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  various  forms  of  dis¬ 
ease.  The  practical  experience  he  gained  in  this  manner 
was  considerable,  and  his  natural  ability  soon  recommended 
him  to  the  authorities  of  the  institution,  who  appointed  him 
Chief  of  Medical  Clinic  of  the  College,  a  position  he  held 

for  several  years. 

2 


fv 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


One  of  the  advantages  of  this  post  was  that  it  brought 
him  into  constant  communion  with  many  eminent  medical 
men,  and  rendered  him  practically  acquainted  with  their 
treatment  of  disease.  His  skill  in  phonography  enabled 
him  to  take  abundant  notes  of  their  lectures,  and  this  led  to 
his  early  connection  with  the  periodical  literature  of  the 
profession.  Most  of  the  reports  he  drew  up  were  published 
in  the  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter ,  a  weekly  journal, 
devoted  to  medical  science,  published  in  Philadelphia.  The 
series  of  reports  commenced  in  April,  1866,  and  continued, 
with  slight  interruptions,  until  June,  1870.  They  are 
characterized  by  a  clear  and  correct  style,  and  a  manifestly 
thorough  grasp  of  the  numerous  topics  treated. 

The  success  which  these  ephemeral  writings  obtained 
turned  his  thoughts  in  the  direction  of  authorship.  His 
tastes  and  associations  led  him  to  employ  his  powers  in  two 
directions :  first,  in  preparing  for  the  general  public  a  series 
of  works  which  would  acquaint  them  with  anatomy,  physi- 
ology,  hygiene,  sanitary  science,  nursing,  and  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  disease,  to  the  extent  that  intelligent  general  readers 
can  and  ought  to  know  about  these  subjects ;  and  secondly, 
in  writing  for  professional  men  several  treatises  on  the 
means  of  alleviating  and  curing  diseases. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  first  mentioned  of  these  plans, 
he  was  early  impressed  with  the  utter  absence  of  any  trea¬ 
tise  on  the  hygiene  of  the  sexual  life  in  either  sex,  written 
in  the  proper  spirit  by  a  scientific  man.  The  field  had  been 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


V 


left  to  quacks  or  worse,  who,  to  serve  their  own  base  ends, 
scattered  inflammatory  and  often  indecent  pamphlets  over 
the  land  ;  or  else,  had  one  or  more  of  the  points  been  handled 
by  reputable  writers,  it  was  in  such  a  vague  and  imperfect 
manner  that  the  reader  gained  little  benefit  from  the  perusal. 
While  all  agreed  that  a  sound  treatise  on  these  topics  was 
most  desirable,  it  had  been  openly  averred  that  it  could  not 
be  written  in  a  proper  style  for  the  general  public. 

Strong  in  the  conviction  that  pure  motives,  literary  tact, 
and  the  requisite  scientific  knowledge  qualified  him  to  urn 
dertake  this  difficult  task,  Dr.  Napheys  prepared,  in  the 
early  months  of  1869,  his  work  on  “  The  Physical  Life  oi 
Woman.”  Proceeding  with  caution,  he  first  submitted  the 
MSS.  to  some  professional  friends,  and  profited  by  their 
suggestions.  After  the  work  was  in  type,  and  before  pub¬ 
lication,  he  sent  complete  copies  to  a  number  of  gentlemen, 
eminent  as  medical  teachers,  clergymen,  educators,  and  liter- 
ateurs.  Their  replies  left  him  in  no  doubt  but  that  he  had 
succeeded  even  beyond  his  anticipations.  Almost  unani¬ 
mously  the  opinions  were  complimentary  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  evidently  written  after  a  close  examination  of 
the  book.  As  many  of  these  have  been  printed  to  accom¬ 
pany  the  work,  in  the  last  and  previous  editions,  it  is  need¬ 
less  to  do  more  in  this  connection  than  to  say  that  they  were 
penned  by  such  judges  as  Dr.  W.  A.  Ilammond,  late  Sur- 
geon-Greneral  U.  S.  Army ;  Dr.  Harvey  L.  Byrd,  Professor 
in  the  Medical  Department  of  Washington  University,  Md.; 


Yl 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


Dr.  Edwin  M.  Snow,  Health  Officer  of  the  City  of  Provi- 
dence,  R.  I.;  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Rev.  Horace 
Bushnell,  d.d.,  Rev.  (leorge  A.  Crooke,  d.d.,  d.c.l  ,  and 
others. 

On  its  appearance,  the  work  was  received  with  enthusi¬ 
asm  by  both  the  medical  press  and  the  public.  While  a 
few  journals  and  individuals  were  inclined  to  condemn  it 
and  censure  the  author,  the  intelligent  and  the  pure-minded, 
on  all  sides,  recognized  in  him  the  only  writer  who  had  yet 
appeared  able  to  treat  these  delicate  subjects  with  the  dig¬ 
nity  of  science  and  the  straightforwardness  necessary  for 
popular  instruction. 

Satisfied  that  he  had  chosen  the  proper  exercise  for  his 
talents,  he  composed  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  pub¬ 
lisher,  the  following  year,  his  not  less  extraordinary  work, 
“  The  Transmission  of  Life,”  a  treatise  addressed  to  the 
male,  as  his  previous  one  had  been  to  the  female  sex.  It 
was  dedicated  to  the  late  Rev.  John  Todd,  so  well  known 
for  his  interest  in  young  men,  and  his  “  Student’s  Manual  ” 
and  other  works  addressed  to  them.  He  accepted  the  dedi¬ 
cation  and  addressed  the  author  a  letter,  in  which  occurs  the 
following  high  compliment  to  his  work  :  “I  am  surprised 
at  the  extent  and  accuracy  of  your  reading  ;  the  judicious¬ 
ness  of  your  positions  and  results  ;  the  clear,  unequivocal, 
yet  delicate  and  appropriate  language  used  ;  and  the  amount 
of  valuable  information  conveyed.”  Similar  expressions 
poured  in  from  many  other  distinguished  critics,  as,  for  in- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


Yli 


(Stance,  Dr.  Noah  Porter,  President  of  Yale  College ;  the 
Rev.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull,  the  Rev.  Abner  Jackson,  Pre 
sident  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  etc. 

In  the  same  year  (1870)  he  brought  out  the  first  edition 
of  his  “  Modern  Therapeutics,”  a  technical  work,  addressed 
to  physicians.  This  was  enlarged  in  successive  editions, 
until  in  its  present  form,  as  continued  by  other  hands  in  its 
latest  editions,  it  comprises  two  parts  of  GOO  pages  each. 
Although  the  author  claimed  little  other  originality  in  this 
work  than  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  known  facts, 
yet  in  these  respects  he  displayed  the  strongly  practical  and 
original  turn  of  his  mind.  As  a  student  of  the  art  of  Thera¬ 
peutics  in  large  hospitals,  clinics,  and  dispensaries,  he  had 
convinced  himself  that  it  is  not  by  experiments  on  lower 
animals,  nor  yet  on  the  human  body  in  health,  that  the 
physician  can  attain  the  glorious  power  of  alleviating  pain 
and  curing  disease ;  it  is  only  through  the  daily  combat 
with  sickness,  by  the  bedside  and  in  the  consulting  room. 
Chemistry  and  physiology,  he  believed,  could  teach  but 
little  in  this  branch  ;  observation  and  experience  everything. 
Hence,  in  his  work  on  Therapeutics  he  announced  himself 
as  u  aiming  at  a  systematic  analysis  of  all  current  and  ap¬ 
proved  means  of  combating  disease,”  selecting  his  formulae 
and  therapeutical  directions  from  the  most  eminent  living 
physicians  of  all  nations. 

This  work  was  most  favorably  received  by  medical  men  ; 

and,  edited  and  revised  by  competent  hands,  continues  to  b« 

2 


Vlli  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

regarded  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  works  in  American 
medical  literature.  The  unanimous  opinion  of  the  leading 
medical  journals,  as  well  as  of  its  numerous  purchasers,  have 
testified  to  its  real  and  great  worth  to  the  practitioner  of 
medicine. 

Having  thus  established  a  wide,  popular  and  professional 
reputation,  one  which  would  have  guaranteed  him  a  lucra¬ 
tive  practice,  it  would  have  tempted  another,  no  doubt,  to 
make  the  most  of  this  opportunity,  so  rarely  granted  a  young 
physician.  Not  so  was  it  with  Dr.  Napheys.  No  sooner 
had  the  three  works  mentioned  been  completed  than  he 
sailed  for  Europe,  in  order  to  familiarize  himself  with  the 
famed  schools  of  learning  of  the  Old  World  and  its  rich 
stores  of  material  for  culture.  The  summer  was  that  of  the 
Franco-Grerman  war ;  and  spending  most  of  it  in  Paris,  he 
was  witness  of  several  of  the  most  exciting  scenes  which 
attended  the  dethronement  of  the  Emperor.  These  he 
would  describe  afterwards  with  a  vividness  and  power  of 
language  rarely  excelled. 

The  excitement  of  the  period  did  not,  however,  withdraw 
his  attention  from  the  studies  he  had  in  view.  These  were 
partially  indicated  in  a  series  of  letters  he  contributed  tc 
various  periodicals  during  his  absence.  While  these  letters 
were  principally  of  a  scientific  character,  it  is  noteworthy 
how  the  relations  of  medicine  to  the  welfare  of  man  always 
occupied  his  attention.  Thus  we  find,  in  one  sent  from 
England,  June,  1870,  a  description  of  the  Liverpool  Medi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


IX 


cal  Missionary  Society,  a  charity  which  combines  religious 
instruction  with  medical  advice ;  and  again,  he  comments 
on  the  popular  instruction  in  hygiene  which  was  supplied 
at  that  period  to  the  English  workingmen  by  a  committee 
of  competent  physicians,  organized  for  that  purpose.  It 
was  the  author’s  purpose  to  collect  and  expand  these  letters 
into  a  volume,  but  the  project  was  not  carried  out. 

The  siege  of  Paris,  which  city  he  left  in  one  of  the  last 
trains  before  the  blockade  commenced,  and  the  prolongation 
of  the  war,  induced  him  to  return  home.  In  the  United 
States  he  found  offers  from  several  publishers  awaiting  him, 
which  would  more  than  occupy  him  for  a  full  year.  There 
was  a  new  edition  of  his  Therapeutics  ”  demanded,  and  a 
revision  of  both  “  The  Physical  Life  of  Woman”  and  “  The 
Transmission  of  Life.”  A  New  England  firm  urgently 
pressed  him  to  superintend  the  production  of  several  hy¬ 
gienic  works,  and  secured  him  as  literary  adviser  to  their 
house.  He  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  “  Half-Yearly 
Compendium  of  Medical  Science,”  and  also  of  a  “  Physi¬ 
cian's  Annual,”  besides  undertaking  a  number  of  articles 
for  the  periodical  press,  both  scientific  and  popular. 

To  this  active  literary  life  he  devoted  the  year  1871; 
but  at  its  close  felt  more  strongly  than  ever  that  he  must 
give  himself  several  years  of  studious  quiet,  in  order 
to  accomplish  his  best.  Refusing,  therefore,  any  further 
engagements,  he  sailed  for  Europe  again,  late  in  1871,  and 
did  not  return  this  time  until  the  spring  of  1875.  Id  cilia 


X 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


period,  of  more  than  three  years,  he  visited  almost  all  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe,  and  enjoyed  the  friendship  of 
many  eminent  men  at  London,  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna,  and 
Paris.  Heading,  visiting  hospitals,  and  attending  clinics, 
he  accumulated  a  mass  of  material  which  he  designed  to 
work  up  into  future  literary  enterprises. 

With  these  collected  stores  he  returned  to  the  United 
States  early  in  1875,  and  set  to  work  with  his  wonted  en¬ 
ergy.  A  new  and  much  enlarged  edition  of  the  “  Thera¬ 
peutics”  was  sent  to  press ;  a  “  Handbook  of  Popular  Medi¬ 
cine,”  designed  to  give,  in  simple  language,  the  domestic 
treatment  of  disease,  the  rules  for  nursing  the  sick,  selected 
receipts  for  diet  and  medicinal  purposes,  and  the  outlines  of 
anatomy  and  physiology,  was  put  in  the  hands  of  a  pub¬ 
lisher  ;  a  Synopsis  of  Pharmacy  and  Materia  Medica,  a  work 
of  enormous  labor,  was  well  under  way ;  and  other  literary 
projects  were  actively  planned ;  when,  suddenly,  the  sum¬ 
mons  came  which,  in  an  instant,  with  the  shears  of  fate,  slit 
the  strand  of  this  activity.  The  rest  of  the  story  may  be 
told  in  the  words  of  the  biographer  appointed  by  the  Medi¬ 
cal  Society  of  the  County  of  Philadelphia  to  prepare  a  me¬ 
moir  of  his  life  : — 

“  While  earnestly  laboring  to  prepare  for  the  press  his 
literary  collections,  he  suffered  a  severe  blow  by  the  sudden 
death  of  a  person  to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached.  Over¬ 
work  and  this  emotional  bxrnck  produced  a  result  likely 
enough  to  occur  in  one  of  his  ardent  temperament.  One 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


XI 


afternoon,  while  engaged  in  writing,  he  fell,  unconscious, 
from  his  chair,  and  for  several  days  lay  in  a  very  critical 
condition.  On  recovering  his  powers,  it  was  evident  his 
brain  had  suffered  a  serious  lesion.  The  old  energy  and 
love  of  labor  had  completely  gone ;  even  the  capacity  for 
work  seemed  absent.  Marked  melancholy  followed,  charac¬ 
terized  before  long  by  avoidance  of  friends  and  the  loss  of  a 
desire  of  life.  This  occurred  with  increasing  force  until  it 

✓ 

led  to  his  death,  on  July  1,  1 87 G,  through  some  toxic  agent, 
the  nature  of  which  was  not  ascertained. 

“  Thus  early,  and  thus  sadly,  terminated  a  career  of  un¬ 
usual  brilliancy  and  promise. 

“It  is  probable  that  much  that  he  has  written  will  be 
read  with  pleasure  and  instruction  by  future  generations ; 
and  the  memory  of  his  genial  disposition,  his  entertaining 
conversation,  and  earnest  sense  of  professional  honor,  will 
long  be  cherished  by  those  of  his  contemporaries  who  en¬ 
joyed  his  friendship.” — Transactions  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania ,  vol.  xi,  p.  720. 

Various  tributes  were  paid  to  his  memory  by  the  societies 
with  which  he  was  connected,  and  by  the  scientific  journals 
to  which  he  had  been  a  contributor.  One  of  these,  after 
narrating  some  of  the  circumstances  attending  his  decease, 
spoke  as  follows : — 

“  Thus  did  our  unfortunate  associate  close  his  short  but 
brilliant  career.  The  emotions,  the  tender  sentiments  he 
has  described  with  such  a  magical  pen,  he  felt  himself  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


•  • 

Xll 

an  unmatched  keenness.  They  mastered  his  whole  frame 
with  an  intensity  surpassing  all  romance.  His  descriptions 
of  the  passions,  descriptions  which  have  been  the  wonder  of 
thousands,  such  is  their  fire  and  temper,  were  not  rheto¬ 
rical  studies,  but  the  ebullition  of  a  soul  sensitive  to  theh 
lightest  breath,  and  not  shunning  their  wildest  tempests. 

“  The  genius  which  dictated  the  lines  he  has  left  us  is 
not  to  be  judged  by  the  conventionalities  which  suit  the  cold 
temperaments  of  ordinary  men ;  there  is  a  strong  vein  of 
egotism  in  most  devotion  ;  but  here  was  one  who  felt,  ‘  all 
is  lost,  when  love  is  lost.’  ” 

This  extract  well  sets  forth  the  extraordinary  depth  of 
his  sentiments,  and  the  fervor  of  his  feelings.  It  may  be 
added  that  these  mental  traits  were  not  generally  ascribed 
to  him  by  casual  or  ordinary  associates.  He  was,  in  man¬ 
ners  and  bearing,  evidently  not  one  who  sought  friendships 
or  displayed  to  the  general  gaze  the  current  of  his  thoughts. 
Consequently,  of  intimates  he  had  but  few,  and  was  consid¬ 
ered  by  those  whose  intercourse  with  him  was  superficial, 
to  be  much  more  of  an  intellectual  than  of  an  emotional  type 
of  character. 

This  impression  was  doubtless  increased  by  the  strongly 
practical  turn  of  his  mind,  which  is  conspicuous  in  all  his 
works.  He  was  the  reverse  of  a  dreamer  and  had  little  pa¬ 
tience  with  theorists.  In  his  professional  study  he  always 
aimed  at  bringing  into  the  strongest  light  the  utilitarian 
aspect  of  medicine,  its  ameliorating  power  on  humanity,  its 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


Xlll 


real  efficacy  in  preserving  or  restoring  health  and  limiting 
human  misery.  On  this  his  theory  of  therapeutics  was 
based,  and,  inspired  by  the  same  opinions,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  earnest  advocates  of  the  day  of  popularizing  medical 
science  in  all  its  branches  among  the  masses.  In  this  effort 
he  was  at  times  severely  criticised  by  that  class  of  physicians 
— and  they  are  by  no  means  extinct — who  think  that  medi¬ 
cine  should  be  wrapped  in  mystery,  and  that  the  people 
should  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  themselves  and  of  their  own 
physical  frailties,  to  the  utmost  possible  extent.  With  these 
learned  obscurantists  Dr.  Napheys  had  no  patience,  and 
naturally  found  but  slight  favor.  Fortunately,  they  were 
in  the  decided  minority,  and,  we  are  happy  to  add,  even  that 
minority  is  daily  decreasing. 

Of  the  various  learned  societies  to  which  he  was  attached 
may  be  mentioned  the  Philadelphia  County  Medical  Society, 
the  Franklin  Institute  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Gynecologi¬ 
cal  Society  of  Boston.  His  election  as  Corresponding 
Member  to  the  latter  body  (which  is  an  association  of 
scientific  men  who  make  an  especial  study  of  the  hygiene 
and  diseases  of  women)  took  place  shortly  after  the  first 
publication  of  the  Physical  Life  of  Woman,  and  was  meant 
as  a  direct  tribute  of  respect  to  him  as  the  author  of  that 
work,  thus  obtaining  for  it  the  testimony  of  the  highest  body 
in  that  specialty  then  existing  in  our  land. 

The  general  plan  on  which  Dr.  Napheys  prepared  ins 
sanitary  writings  was  one  eminently  calculated  to  reconcile 


XIV 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


those  who  were  most  opposed  to  instructing  the  general 
public  in  such  branches.  While  he  confidently  believed 
that  vastly  more  harm  than  good  is  done  by  a  prudish  con¬ 
cealment  of  the  physiology  of  sex  and  its  relations  to  health, 
he  also  clearly  recognized  that  such  instruction  should  be 
imparted  at  the  proper  age  and  under  certain  limitations ; 
while  the  general  facts  common  to  the  species  cannot  be 
taught  too  generally,  or  made  too  familiar.  Hence,  he  pro¬ 
jected  three  books,  one  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  young 
women,  a  second  for  youths,  and  a  third  for  a  general  house¬ 
hold  book  of  reading  and  reference  on  medicine  and  hygiene. 
These  three  he  completed  in  u  The  Physical  Life  of  Wo¬ 
man,”  “  The  Transmission  of  Life,”  and  the  “  Handbook 
of  Popular  Medicine.” 

This  plan,  he  believed,  met  all  the  objections  to  popular 
medical  instruction,  at  least  all  well-grounded  objections, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  did  away  with  any  necessity  for 
concealing  truths  important  to  be  known,  for  fear  they  should 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  those  for  whom  they  were  not 
designed,  and  on  W'r^se  minds  they  might  have  a  disturbing 
tendency. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  both  the  plan  and  its 
execution  were  successful.  The  many  letters  he  received, 
filled  with  thanks  from  private  parties  who  had  gained  ines¬ 
timable  knowledge  from  these  works,  made  rich  compensa¬ 
tion  for  the  occasional  severe  strictures  he  received  from 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


XV 

those  wedded  to  ancient  ways,  and  who  often  condemned 
without  even  reading  his  works. 

The  intelligent  reading  public,  on  whom,  after  all,  the 
writer  must  depend  for  a  verdict  on  his  works,  were  unani¬ 
mous  in  his  favor.  They  bought  them  in  quantities,  and  the 
writer  of  his  life  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Medical  Society ,  above  quoted,  who  wrote  in  1877, 
estimates  that  by  that  time  over  a  quarter  of  a  million  copies 
had  been  printed  and  sold.  Translations  were  made  into 
the  German,  and  several  editions  pirated  and  printed  in 
Canada  and  England.  In  fact,  the  works  may  now  be  con¬ 
sidered  to  rank  as  classics  in  the  language,  and  many  years 
must  go  by  before  another  such  series  can  be  written,  on 
topics  of  this  nature,  with  equal  delicacy  of  touch  and  accu¬ 
racy  of  knowledge. 


. 


CONTENTS. 


Dedication 
Preface  . 


PAGES 

5 


Introductory 


o 


13—14 


Part  I.— THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF 
MANHOOD. 

The  Physical  Traits  of  the  Male  .....  15—18 


Man’s  specific  function 


Puberty 


19—31 


What  it  is— The  hygiene  of  puberty— What  is  passion?  * 
The  man  unsexed. 


Virility  . 


Signs  of  established  virility — Hygiene  of  virility — The 
decay  of  virility — Causes  that  hasten  the  loss  of  virility 
— Diseases  which  shorten  virility — Effects  of  occupa¬ 
tions  and  exercises — How  to  retain  virility  in  age — The 
food  and  drinks  which  strengthen  virility — The  food 
and  drinks  which  weaken  virility — Drugs  which  stimu¬ 
late  desire — Drugs  which  moderate  desire — Our  na¬ 
tional  tendency  to  premature  loss  of  virility — Relation 
©f  the  sexual  to  the  other  functions. 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Part  II.— THE  CELIBATE  LIFE. 

PAGES 

The  Advantages  of  Celibacy . .  61 — 67 

Proper  reasons  for  celibacy 

The  Disadvantages  of  Celibacy  .  .  «  67 — 70 

The  Solitary  Vice . 71—83 

Its  consequences — Its  prevention — Its  cure. 

Spermatorrhoea  ........  84 — 93 

IV hat  brings  it  about — How  to  prevent  it — How  to 
cure  it. 

Secret  Diseases . 94 — 109 

Their  effects  and  frequency — Their  nature  and  history 
— The  course  and  consequences  of  secret  diseases — 

“  Syphilophobia” — The  sin  of  the  father  visited  on 
the  children — How  soon  can  a  man,  once  diseased, 
marry? — How  to  prevent  these  diseases — Personal 
'means  of  prevention. 

The  Social  Evil . 110 — 129 

Prostitution  in  the  United  States — Its  effects  on  the  wo¬ 
man — Its  consequences  to  the  man — The  causes  that 
maintain  it — Is  it  a  necessary  evil? — How  can  it  be 
stopped  ? — Shall  it  be  regulated  by  law? 

Part  III.— THE  MARRIED  LIFE. 

The  Preliminaries  of  Marriage . 131—143 

The  meaning  of  marriage — Physical  fitness  and  unfit¬ 
ness  for  marriage — The  choice  of  a  wife — Marrying 
cousins — Long  engagements — The  male  flirt— The 
paramount  duty  of  fidelity. 


CONTENTS. 


11 


PAGES 

The  Consummation  of  Marriage . 144 — 170 

Its  signification — Ignoranoe  concerning  marriage — The 
marriage  relation — The  tests  of  virginity — Obstacles 
to  the  consummation  of  marriage — On  the  part  of  the 
female — On  the  part  of  the  male  ;  1.  Lethargy — 2. 

Debility — 3.  Impotence — 4.  Sterility — Special  treat¬ 
ment  of  loss  of  power. 

Husbands  and  Wives  .  ....  171 — 183 

The  hygiene  of  the  chamber — Of  marital  relations — The 
dangers  of  excess — What  is  excess  ? 

The  Husband  as  a  Father .  184 — 200 

The  nature  of  conception — The  avoidance  and  limita¬ 
tion  of  offspring — Criminal  abortion — On  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  the  sexes  at  will. 

Inheritance .  201 — 231 

What  fathers  bequeath  children — The  physical  qualities 
we  inherit — How  o  avoid  having  diseased  and  de¬ 
formed  children — The  laws  of  inheritance  in  disease 
— Hygienic  treatment  of  hereditary  diseases — The 
mental  qualities  we  inherit — Is  our  moral  nature  in¬ 
heritable  ? — Does  the  education  of  the  parents  affect 
the  capacity  and  morality  of  the  child? — Why  chil¬ 
dren  do  not  more  closely  resemble  parents — The  in¬ 
fluence  of  race. 

Part  IV.— NERVOUS  DISORDERS  ORIGINATING 
IN  THE  MALE  GENERATIVE  SYSTEM. 

Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System .  233 — 256 

Their  frequency — One  of  the  causes  of  partial  paralysis  ; 
of  hip  disease;  of  chronic  bronchitis;  of  epilepsy; 
of  wasting ;  of  nervous  prostration  ;  of  disorders  of 
sight  and  hearing  ;  of  indigestion — The  prospects  of 
cure  in  nervous  affections — The  means  of  cure. 


12 


CONTENTS. 


The  Physical  Type  of  Manhood  . 

Medical  Views  on  Popular  Medical  Instruction 
The  Relation  of  the  Sexes  in  Early  Youth  . 

The  Relation  of  Sex  to  Disease  • 

The  Moral  Relations  of  the  Sexual  Lifo 
Conclusion  ....... 

Appendix.  *  »  .  *  .  . 


PAGES 

.  257—260 
.  261—274 
.  275—288 
.  289— £02 
.  303—322 
.  323—326 
327—346 


ME  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


It  is  time  that  science,  renouncing  a  reticence  which  long 
experience  has  proved  pernicious,  should  explain  and  apply 
to  the  public  good  the  hygienic  laws  which  pertain  to  that 
instinct  which,  beyond  all  others,  controls  the  destinies  of 
men  for  good  or  for  evil ;  we  mean  the  instinct  of  procrea¬ 
tion,  the  faculty  of  the  transmission  of  life.  The  physiolo¬ 
gical  importance  of  this  function  alone  would  justify  this* 
The  unborn  generations  to  all  time  are  in  great  part  moulded 
by  ourselves,  and  receive  from  us,  their  progenitors,  the  im¬ 
prints  which  consign  them  to  happiness  or  misery,  health  or 
disease.  Add  to  this  consideration  the  fact  that  the  purest 
joys  of  life,  those  which  centre  around  the  family  circle,  and 
also  the  most  flagrant  stains  on  our  civilization,  those  which 
parade  our  streets  in  shameless  attire,  and  those  which  poison 
the  purity  of  youth  with  vicious  narrative,  alike  spring  from 
the  same  impulse;  and  there  is  reason  enough  to  convince 
the  most  incredulous  that  this  is  no  subject  to  be  timorously 
shunned.  Even  yet,  the  half  is  hardly  told.  More  vital? 
more  immediately  concerning  each  man,  are  the  consequences 

(  13) 


14 


INTRODUCTION-. 


to  the  individual  of  the  intelligent  observation  or  the  igno. 
rant  violation  of  the  laws  of  this  instinct. 

No  one  whose  avocation  does  not  lead  him  within  the  most 
secret  chambers  of  the  human  heart  can  conceive  one  tithe 
of  the  anguish  which  arises  from  a  want  of  knowledge  on 
this  subject.  For  with  this  want  of  knowledge  is  associated 
want  of  power  to  resist  the  evil  and  to  cleave  to  the  good. 

Regarding  it  in  its  multiplied  and  intimate  relations  to  the 
life  of  man  here  and  hereafter,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
no  branch  of  sanitary  science  surpasses  this  in  importance, 
and  we-  may  also  add  no  branch  has  been  so  much  neglected 
and  so  much  misunderstood. 

The  matter  is  of  course  difficult  to  treat ;  it  has  rarely  been 
ventured  upon  except  by  those  who  batten  on  the  wretched¬ 
ness  of  their  fellow-men,  and  therefore  we  well  know  there 
may  be  a  prejudice  against  one  who  undertakes  the  task  of 
discussing  it  with  candor.  Only  after  considerable  hesita¬ 
tion  have  we  concluded  to  encounter  this  prejudice,  trusting 
that  the  manner  in  which  we  shall  accomplish  our  labor,  the 
value  of  the  counsels  we  have  to  communicate,  and  the  solid 
information  we  hope  to  convey,  will  not  leave  any  doubt 
either  as  to  our  motives,  or  as  to  the  propriety  of  our  course. 

We  could  adduce  abundance  of  testimony  from  the  writ¬ 
ings  of  those  most  interested  in  the  amelioration  of  the  race, 
and  its  progress  in  moral  and  social  directions,  to  show  the 
necessity  long  felt  of  a  work  of  this  nature.  But  we  believe 
no  person  of  intelligence  can  harbor  a  doubt  upon  this  point, 
and  it  only  remains  for  us  to  submit  to  them  the  present  trea 
tise,  and  ask  for  it  an  unprejudiced  examination. 


PART  I. 


THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OE  MANHOOD. 


THE  PHYSICAL  TRAITS  OF  THE  MALE. 

The  distinction  of  sex  is  no  after-thought,  no  hap-hazard 
accident  in  the  formation  of  the  individual,  but  commences 
with  the  very  beginning  of  life.  “Male  and  female  created 
He  them,”  says  the  inspired  Word,  and  the  patient  investi¬ 
gator  with  microscope  and  scalpel  fails  to  discover  any  other 
cause  of  sex  than  the  imprint  fixed  by  the  Creator  upon  the 
individual  at  the  moment  of  conception.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  development  of  the  human  germ  which  decides  whether 
it  shall  be  male  or  female. 

As  it  is  the  earliest,  so  sex  is  also  the  most  potent  of  all 
elements  in  the  individual  life.  From  infancy  to  age  it  con¬ 
trols  and  modifies  all  other  traits.  Does  any  one  imagine 
that  boys  and  girls  are  at  any  time  physically  alike  ?  Error, 
no  matter  how  tender  in  years,  the  distinctions  are  numerous 
and  marked.  Even  at  birth  itself,  this  is  true.  Physicians 
have  carefully^weighed  and  measured  hundreds  of  new-born 
infants,  and  have  established  the  following  curious  and  in¬ 
teresting  facts:  Male  children  at  birth  weigh  on  an  average 
one  pound  more  than  females,  their  stature  is  four-tenths 

(  15) 


A 


16  THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 

of  an  inch  greater,  their  pulse  is  a  few  beats  in  the  minute 
faster. 

As  the  boy  grows,  he  develops  unlike  his  sister.  His  mus¬ 
cular  force  becomes  one-third  greater  than  hers;  his  flesh  is 
firmer  and  his  bones  larger;  his  collar-bone  becomes  more 
curved  so  that  he  can  hurl  a  stone  or  swing  a  club  better 
than  she  can;  his  hips  are  narrow,  while  hers  are  broad,  and 
thus  he  can  run  faster  and  more  gracefully;  he  grows  more 
rapidly,  and  he  seeks  the  rude  exercises  which  she  shuns. 
All  these  traits  presage  his  destiny  to  wage  the  rougher 
battles  of  life,  and  fit  him  to  meet  the  buffets  of  untoward 
fortune  with  courage  and  endurance. 

Some  figures  may  here  be  found  of  interest.  The  French 
statistician  Quetelet,  who  has  devoted  more  attention  to  this 
subject  than  any  other  writer,  gives  the  average  weight  of 
an  adult  male  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  pounds,  and 
the  average  height  at  five  feet  four  inches.  In  England,  the 
gentleman  who  has  charge  of  the  University  Gymnasium  at 
Oxford  reports,  that  of  the  first  one  hundred  young  men 
whose  names  were  on  his  book,  the  average  height  was  a 
trifle  over  five  feet  nine  inches,  and  the  average  weight  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  pounds. 

With  these  foreign  measurements  we  can  compare  those 
of  the  students  of  Harvard  University  and  Amherst  College, 
New  England.  Dr.  Gould,  who  examined  a  large  number 
of  the  former,  reports  their  average  height  at  five  feet  eight 
inches,  and  their  weight  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine 
pounds.  From  the  statistics  of  all  the  members  of  Amherst 
College,  from  1861  to  1869,  Dr.  Allen  found  the  average 
weight  to  be  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pounds,  and  the 
average  height  about  five  feet  eight  inches.  So  that  Ame¬ 
ricans  appear  to  be  between  the  English  and  French  in 
height,  but  heavier  than  either  in  proportion  to  their  stature- 


MORTALITY  OF  MALES. 


17 


The  average  height  of  American  women  is  but  five  feet  four 
inches,  and  their  weight  about  ten  pounds  less  in  proportion. 

A  strange  contradiction  meets  us  here — a  problem  which 
science  has  not  yet  solved.  It  would  naturally  be  supposed 
that  with  this  more  vigorous  frame,  and  sturdier  form,  the 
vitality  of  the  male  would  be  greater  than  the  female,  his 
average  life  longer,  his  greatest  age  greater.  It  is  not  so. 
This  law  of  population  holds  good  in  every  country  of  which 
we  have  any  statistics  :  About  five  per  cent,  more  male  than 
female  children  are  born,  but  at  five  years  of  age  more  girls 
are  alive  than  boys.  Again,  at  every  period  of  life,  the  ‘‘ex¬ 
pectation  of  life,”  as  insurance  agents  call  it,  that  is,  the 
average  term  yet  to  live,  is  greater  in  women  than  men.  And, 
finally,  of  very  old  persons,  the  large  majority  are  women. 
So  true  is  this  that  the  last  census  of  France  shows  that  at 
the  age  of  ninety  years  there  were  three  women  to  two  men, 
and  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  the  number  of  women  was 
more  than  sixteen  times  the  number  of  men ! 

The  characteristics  of  infancy,  such  as  the  delicate  skin,* 
the  fragile  bones,  the  rounded  outline,  the  abundance  of 
fatty  tissue,  are  preserved  in  the  female  more  generally  than 
the  male  sex.  It  is  far  more  accurate  to  say  the  child  is 
mother  to  the  woman  than  father  to  the  man. 

Man’s  Specific  Function. 

All  these  deep-seated  differences,  the  whole  great  fact  of 
sexuality  with  its  infinite  bearings  on  the  social,  the  physical, 
and  the  moral  life  of  man,  look  to  the  accomplishment  of  one 
purpose,  to  the  performance  of  one  function.  That  purpose, 
that  function,  is  the  reproduction  of  the  species,  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  life.  Around  this  central,  mysterious  power  are 
grouped  all  other  faculties  and  aspirations.  It  is  the  strong- 


18 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


est  of  all  instincts,  the  most  uncontrollable  of  all  passions 
the  most  imperious  of  all  demands.  Nature  everywhere 
points  to  it  as  the  most  sacred  object  of  the  individual’s 
physical  existence.  The  botanist  can  tell  of  plants  rooted 
in  such  exposed  and  barren  soils  that  no  nourishment  is 
afforded  for  leaves  or  fronds ;  but  the  flower  and  the  seeds 
mature ;  the  zoologist  has  strange  stories  to  relate  of  the 
males  of  lower  forms  of  animal  life,  who,  when  they  have 
once  completed  the  act  of  reproduction,  straightway  wither 
and  die,  as  if  this  alone  was  the  purpose  of  their  creation. 

The  instinct  of  self-preservation  itself  in  unnumbered  in¬ 
stances  has  disappeared  before  the  tyrannical  demands  of 
sexual  love.  There  is  an  impulse  in  organic  beings  which 
they  feel  to  be  of  greater  moment  than  all  else,  weighed 
against  which  life  itself  is  a  feather  in  the  balance,  the  scope 
of  which  is  not  bounded  by  the  confines  of  the  individual, 
but  stretches  into  eternity  and  to  the  limits  of  all  things. 
This  impulse  is  the  perpetuation  of  their  kind — once  more 
the  transmission  of  life.  It  is  something  apart  from  all 
else  in  nature.  Contemplating  it  with  the  inspired  eye  of 
genius,  Bichat,  the  profoundest  of  modern  physiologists, 
speaks  of  it  as  a  phenomenon  which  science  must  study  by 
itself,  unconnected  with  the  other  functions  of  the  individual. 
Regarding  it  with  the  practical  observation  of  a  man  of  the 
world,  an  eminent  New  York  surgeon  writes  :  “  The  strongest 
motive  of  human  action,  the  most  powerful  mainspring  with¬ 
in  us  all,  is  the  sexual  desire,  with  the  domestic  relations 
which  rest  upon  it.  It  is  stronger  in  its  influence,  controls 
more  men,  causes  the  commission  of  more  crimes  and  more 
good  deeds,  than  any  other  impulse.”  How  vitally  import¬ 
ant  is  it,  therefore,  how  intimately  does  it  concern  the  weal 
of  our  nation,  to  understand  its  nature  and  its  laws,  its  gov¬ 
ernment,  its  dangers,  its  regulation  !  In  what  direction  can 
we  with  greater  propriety  extend  the  domain  of  hygiene  ? 


PUBERTY. 


What  it  is. 

At  a  certain  period  in  the  life  of  the  youth  he  undergoes 
a  change  by  which  he  acquires  powers,  which  qualify  him  to 
take  part  in  the  perpetuation  of  his  kind.  This  change  is 
the  period  of  puberty.  It  is  distinguished  by  a  number  of 
physical  alterations,  the  most  significant  of  which  is  the 
secretion  of  a  fecundating  fluid. 

Yet  we  must  not  be  understood  to  say  that  this  is  a  prompt 
or  sudden  change.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  slow,  extending 
over  many  years,  attended  by  a  completion  of  growth  and  a 
ripening  of  all  the  physical  powers.  Only  wThen  all  these 
various  processes  are  matured  does  the  male  reach  the  period 
of  virility ,  that  period  which  is  the  proper  time  for  him  to 
fulfil  the  duties  which  nature  has  imposed  on  those  features 
peculiar  to  his  sex.  We  cannot  too  earnestly  impress  on  all 
the  truth  of  this  fact.  Through  ignorance  of  it,  or  neglect  . 
of  it,  untold  misery  is  constantly  brought  upon  the  young, 
and  the  race  itself  shows  the  sad  results  of  an  infraction  of 
this  rule.  Let  us  therefore  define  more  minutely  these  two 
phases  of  life. 

When  the  boy  passes  to  the  condition  of  youth  he  leaves 
behind  him  the  characteristics  of  childhood.  The  skin  be¬ 
comes  coarser  and  less  delicate,  the  muscles  firmer  and  more 
distinctly  marked,  the  voice  loses  its  childish  treble,  the  vocal 
apparatus  enlarges  and  emits  a  harsher  sound,  the  bonea 

(19) 


20 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


harden,  the  “  wisdom  teeth”  appear,  various  parts  of  the 
body  become  covered  with  a  soft  down  which  gradually  be¬ 
comes  rougher  and  thicker,  and  those  organs  peculiar  to  his 
sex  enlarge. 

Not  less  remarkable  are  the  mental  changes.  Unwonted 
desires  and  sensations,  half  understood  and  confusing,  awake 
in  the  mind  impulses  to  which  he  has  been  a  stranger,  vague 
longings  after  he  knows  not  what,  sudden  accesses  of  sliame- 
facedness  in  circumstances  where  he  had  ever  been  at  ease,  a 
Restlessness,  and  a  wilfulness,  indicate  to  the  observing  eye 
the  revolution  which  is  going  on  within.  Perilous  moment 
for  the  boy  !  Dangers  of  which  he  has  no  knowledge,  which 
he  could  not  understand  were  they  explained  to  him,  yet 
which  will  imperil  all  his  future  life  and  all  his  other  facul¬ 
ties,  are  around  him. 

The  proper  age  at  which  puberty  should  come  varies  from 
twelve  to  eighteen  years,  as  it  is  influenced  by  many  sur¬ 
rounding  conditions.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these  is 
climate.  Travelers  have  frequently  observed  that  in  tro¬ 
pical  countries  both  the  sexes  arrive  at  maturity  earlier  in 
life  than  in  temperate  or  cold  countries.  This  explains  the 
early  marriages  which  are  customary  in  those  localities,  and 
which  do  not  appear  to  exert  the  injurious  influence  on  the  off¬ 
spring  which  is  almost  constantly  observed  in  temperate  cli¬ 
mates  from  premature  unions.  In  Abyssinia  and  the  shores  of 
the  Red  Sea,  which  are  the  hottest  parts  of  the  globe,  it  is  no 
unusual  sight  to  see  boys  of  fifteen  and  sixteen  who  are 
already  fathers.  And  what  is  even  more  singular,  this  pre¬ 
cocity  does  not  appear  to  react  on  the  constitution,  but 
according  to  the  observations  of  an  English  surgeon  during 
the  Abyssinian  campaign,  the  masculine  functions  are  re¬ 
tained  with  exceptional  vigor  to  very  advanced  years. 

In  Lapland,  Northern  Russia,  and  Siberia  the  young  men 


WHAT  HASTENS  PUBERTY. 


21 


reach  the  age  of  eighteen  and  nineteen  years,  before  their 
sluggish  constitutions  undergo  the  changes  incident  to 
puberty,  and  even  then  it  is  rare  that  their  passions  are 
violent  or  long  retained. 

Jn  our  own  country,  the  usual  and  healthy  age  of  puberty 
is  'Torn  fourteen  to  fifteen  years,  varying  a  year  or  two  more 
or  less  as  influenced  by  circumstances  which  we  shall  pro¬ 
ceed  to  mention.  One  of  these  is  hereditary  tendency.  This 
is  constantly  observed  as  hastening  or  retarding  by  a  year 
or  two  the  development  of  both  sexes.  It  is  to  some  extent 
connected  with  race,  as  it  is  found  that  negroes  are  more 
precocious  than  whites,  and  boys  of  southern  parentage  than 
those  of  northern.  This  is  readily  seen  to  be  traceable  to 
the  influence  of  climate  just  referred  to. 

The  temperament  is  also  a  controlling  influence.  Light¬ 
haired,  stout,  phlegmatic  boys  are  longer  in  attaining  the 
age  of  puberty,  than  those  of  nervous  and  nervo-bilious 
temperaments. 

Occupation  and  habits  have  also  much  to  do  in  the  mat¬ 
ter.  As  a  general  rule,  the  more  vigorous,  the  more  addicted 
to  athletic  exercise,  the  more  accustomed  to  out-door  life, 
and  to  active  pursuits,  the  slower  will  be  this  change  in 
approaching.  This  statement  may  be  unexpected  to  many  ; 
they  may  think  that  vigorous  health  is  precisely  what  nature 
would  wish  to  assist  her  to  complete  this  profound  and  mys¬ 
terious  transformation  in  the  constitution.  To  all  such  wTe 
have  to  tell  of  a  law  sanctioned  by  the  researches  of  all 
physiologists,  proven  by  the  daily  experience  of  the  physi¬ 
cian,  and  which  we  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  refer  to  fre¬ 
quently,  for  it  contains  the  solution  of  many  a  vexed  physical 
and  social  problem.  This  law  teaches  that  there  is  a  con¬ 
stant  and  a  direct  antagonism  between  the  highest  perfection 
of  the  individual  and  the  exercise  of  the  masculine  function ; 


22 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


or,  to  quote  the  words  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  writers 
on  physiology,  Dr.  Carpenter,  “  The  Development  of  the 
Individual  and  the  Reproduction  of  the  Species  stand  in  an 
inverse  ratio  to  each  other.” 

The  constitution ,  by  which  we  mean  the  mass  of  morbid 
or  healthy  tendencies  inherited  from  parents,  consequently 
has  very  considerable  weight  in  determining  the  time  at  which 
the  change  will  take  place.  In  accordance  with  the  physio¬ 
logical  law  just  quoted,  it  is  very  generally  found  that  boys 
with  weak,  nervous,  debilitated  constitutions  are  apt  to  be 
precocious ;  and  those  gifted  by  their  parents  with  sturdy 
limbs  and  a  powerful  frame  remain  boys  much  longer. 

The  Hygiene  of  Puberty. 

Let  it  be  distinctly  understood,  therefore,  that  it  is  alto¬ 
gether  advisable,  and  the  only  consistent  hygienic  course,  to 
defer  as  long  as  possible  the  development  of  the  sexual  in¬ 
stinct.  It  will  surely  come  soon  enough,  and  the  danger 
only,  is  that  it  will  come  too  soon. 

There  are,  indeed,  instances  of  precocity,  apparently  with¬ 
out  entailing  debility  or  disease,  which  are  not  readily  ex¬ 
plained.  Several  cases  are  on  record  in  medical  works, 
where  children  at  the  age  of  three  and  four  years  manifested 
a  complete  development  of  sexual  power.  But  apart  from 
the  liability  to  error  which  rests  over  these  observations,  such 
exceptional  instances  must  be  classed  with  what  medical 
writers  term  idiosyncrasies,  and  no  inferences  for  general 
guidance  can  be  drawn  from  them. 

Apart  from  moral  reasons  which  urge  the  retardation  of 
the  sexual  change,  there  are  sanitary  arguments  of  the 
Weightiest  character  which  tend  in  the  same  direction. 
Foremost  of  these  is  the  danger  of  solitary  vice,  and  of  illicit 


IGNORANCE  NO  BENEFIT. 


23 


pleasures,  with  their  so  frequent  and  terrible  penalties.  The 
less,  indeed,  that  the  boy  and  the  youth  think  about,  or  in 
any  way  have  their  attention  directed  to  the  sexual  distinc¬ 
tions,  the  better.  Does  it  follow  from  this  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  parents  and  teachers  sedulously  and  wholly  to  refrain 
from  warning  them,  or  giving  instructions  of  a  private 
nature  ?  This  important  question  has  been  frequently  dis¬ 
cussed,  and  there  are  now,  as  there  always  have  been,  men 
of  influence  who  answer  it  in  the  affirmative.  But  it  is  also 
worth  remarking  that  without  an  exception  those  medical 
authors  who  have  given  most  constant  and  earnest  attention 
to  the  diseases  and  disorders  which  arise  from  the  prevailing 
ignorance  in  such  matters,  are  earnest  and  emphatic  in  their 
recommendations  to  educators  and  to  parents  to  give  sound 
advice  to  boys,  and  to  urge  upon  them  the  observance  of 
certain  precautions,  which  tend  to  remove  premature  excite¬ 
ments. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  those  who  have 
charge  of  youths  to  see  that  neither  by  ignorance  nor  urged 
by  opportunity  or  intellectual  stimulants,  they  forestall  na¬ 
ture’s  own  good  time.  Most  inexcusable  is  the  false  modesty 
which,  on  the  ground  of  fear  lest  indecorous  thoughts  should 
be  awakened,  serves  as  the  plea  for  wholly  neglecting  this 
vital  department  of  sanitary  supervision.  Not  unfrequently 
some  physical  ailment,  some  local  irritation  leads  to  an 
afflux  of  blood  to  the  parts,  which  prompts  the  boy  to 
thoughts  and  deeds  far  more  blameworthy  than  any  to  which 
he  could  be  led  by  grave  and  serious  admonition. 

We  will  briefly  rehearse  what  sanitary  regulations  should 
be  instituted  in  schools  and  in  private  families  to  prevent  un¬ 
natural  precocity,  and  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  repetition 
hereafter,  we  add  that  these  same  regulations,  altered  more 
or  less  to  suit  circumstances,  are  of  the  utmost  value  after 


24 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


puberty  is  established,  to  escape  unnecessary  sexual  excite, 
ment,  and  to  aid  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  which  arise,  or 
are  associated  with  irritability  of  this  function.  We  shall 
on  a  later  page  refer  to  them  in  these  connections. 

The  most  potent  of  all  means  to  this  end  is  muscular  de¬ 
velopment.  Systematic,  daily,  regulated  exercise,  pushed 
to  the  verge  of  fatigue,  and  varied  so  as  to  keep  up  the 
interest  of  the  pupil,  cannot  be  too  much  insisted  upon. 
This  alone  is  worth  all  other  precautions,  and  is  almost  in¬ 
dispensable.  Now  that  most  large  schools  have  gymnasiums 
attached,  and  especially  as  light  gymnastics  have  been  so 
widely  introduced,  and  can  be  put  in  practice  at  such  small 
expense,  there  is  no  excuse  for  neglecting  this  precept. 
Parents  will  do  well  to  decline  sending  their  boys  to  any 
institution  which  has  no  provisions  for  physical  culture. 

Cleanliness  is  next  to  be  mentioned.  It  were  an  excellent 
arrangement  for  every  boy  to  be  induced  to  take  a  sponge- 
bath,  or,  what  is  better,  a  shower-bath,  every  morning,  in  cool 
or  cold  water.  They  should  be  told  that  a  sense  of  heat  or 
irritation  about  their  parts  may  arise  from  a  want  of  thorough 
cleansing.  One  of  the  most  distinguished  authorities  on  these 
subjects,  Mr.  William  Acton,  of  London,  says:  “My  own 
opinion  is  that  a  long  prepuce  in  children  is  a  much  more 
frequent  cause  of  evil  habits  than  parents  or  medical  men 
have  any  idea  of.  But  I  have  never  heard  of  any  steps  ever 
having  been  taken  by  those  having  the  care  of  youth  to  in¬ 
duce  boys  to  adopt  proper  habits  of  cleanliness  in  this  respect. 
Probably  no  nurse,  parent,  or  schoolmaster^,  would  at  first 
relish  the  proposal  that  a  boy  of  twelve  should  be  told  to 
draw  back  his  foreskin  and  cleanse  the  part  thoroughly.  In 
my  own  experience  of  children  I  have  found  this  practice  so 
beneficial  that  I  never  hesitate  to  recommend  it  in  any  cases 
where  there  is  the  least  sign  of  irritation  from  this  cause.” 


THE  HYGIENE  OF  SCHOOLS. 


23 


One  of  the  common  causes  of  premature  excitement,  even 
as  early  as  infancy,”  says  Mr.  W.  F.  Teevan,  a  writer  in  a 
recent  number  of  the  British  Medical  Journal  (May,  1870), 
“is  a  tight  foreskin.  It  is  a  cause  of  much  evil,  and  it  ought 
always  to  be  remedied.”  This  can  generally  be  accomplished 
by  giving  a  boy  proper  directions,  but,  if  not,  there  should 
be  no  hesitation  in  recommending  a  surgical  operation.  The 
rite  of  circumcision  is  in  this  respect  extremely  salutary,  and 
some  physicians  have  recommended  its  general  adoption,  no 
longer  on  religious  but  on  hygienic  grounds.  At  any  rate 
the  above  advice  from  so  eminent  a  quarter  is  deserving  the 
highest  respect,  and  may,  with  proper  caution,  be  carried  out 
where  the  observant  guardian  considers  it  applicable. 

Avoidance  of  irritation  from  any  cause  is  always  essential. 
It  may  arise  from  ill-fitting  drawers  or  pants,  or  from  an  un¬ 
comfortable  seat,  or  from  constipation  of  the  bowels,  or  from 
an  unhealthy  condition  of  the  urine  or  bladder,  from  piles, 
and  much  more  frequently  from  worms,  especially  those 
familiarly  known  as  seat-worms.  Soft  cushions  should  be 
dispensed  with;  cane-bottomed  chairs  and  benches  are  for 
many  reasons  preterable.  Certain  varieties  of  skin  diseases 
of  a  chronic  character  are  attended  by  a  degree  of  heat 
and  itching  that  the  child  is  led  involuntarily  to  scratch  and 
rub  the  affected  part.  Whenever  they  attack  the  inside  of 
the  thighs  or  lower  part  of  the  abdomen,  they  should  receive 
prompt  and  efficient  treatment. 

The  dormitory  regulations  should  invariably  be  of  a 
character  to  promote  modesty.  Never  should  two  or  three 
boys  be  allowed  to  sleep  in  the  same  bed,  and  it  were  more 
prudent  to  assign  each  a  separate  chamber.  They  should 
be  encouraged  by  precept  and  example  to  avoid  needless 
exposure  of  the  person  and  indecorous  gestures.  The  beds 
should  be  tolerably  hard,  mattresses  of  hair  or  with  springs 


26 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


being  greatly  preferable  to  those  of  feathers,  cotton,  or  sponge. 
These  latter  are  heating,  and,  therefore,  objectionable.  The 
bed  clothing  should  be  light,  thick  comfortables  being  avoided^ 
and  the  chambers  should  be  cool  and  well  ventilated.  Every 
boy  should  be  required  before  retiring  to  empty  the  bladder, 
as  the  presence  of  much  fluid  in  that  organ  acts  as  a  source 
cf  irritation  on  the  surrounding  parts.  When  a  boy  wets 
his  bed  during  sleep,  it  may  be  taken  as  evidence  that  he 
either  neglects  this  duty,  or  else  that  there  is  some  local  irri¬ 
tation  present  which  requires  medical  attention.  Sleeping 
on  the  back  should  be  warned  against,  as  this  is  one  of  Lie 
known  causes  of  nocturnal  excitement  and  emissions. 

Fortunately,  the  prevalence  of  flogging  as  a  punishment 
is  by  no  means  what  it  once  was.  We  say  fortunately,  for 
through  ignorance  of  physiological  laws  this  method  of  dis¬ 
cipline  was  calculated  to  stimulate  precisely  what  it  was 
intended  to  check.  It  is  well  known  that  switching  across 
the  seat  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  excitants  of  the  reflex 
nerves  of  the  part,  and  is  resorted  to  by  depraved  and  worn- 
out  debauchees  for  that  very  purpose.  How  unwise,  how 
reprehensible,  therefore,  to  employ  it  on  the  persons  Qf  boys, 
in  whom  such  a  stimulant  is  most  dangerous.  Readers  of 
French  literature  may  remember  an  instructive  example  in 
the  Confessions  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  where  that  de¬ 
praved  and  eccentric,  though  gifted  man,  acknowledges  to 
have  rather  enjoyed  than  otherwise  the  floggings  he  received 
when  at  school. 

Equally  important  as  these  physical  regulations  is  it  that 
the  boy  should  be  assiduously  trained  to  look  with  disgust 
and  abhorrence  on  whatever  is  indecent  in  word  or  action. 
Let  him  be  taiught  a  sense  of  shame,  that  modesty  is  manly 
and  honorable,  and  that  immodesty  is  base  and  dishonorable. 
Establish  in  a  school  a  high  and  pure  tone  of  feeling  in  re- 


THE  NATURE  OF  PASSION. 


21 


gtnvi  to  such  matters.  It  can  be  accomplished  by  a  skilful 
master  more  easily  than  one  might  suppose.  Let  some  of 
the  older  and  abler  pupils  have  explained  to  them  its  neces* 
sity,  and  the  risks  and  evils  of  an  opposite  course,  and  they 
can  readixy  be  enlisted  on  the  side  of  purity  and  health. 

Nor  should  it  be  overlooked  that  the  mental  food  presented 
to  the  boy  may  serve  to  evoke  dangerous  meditations.  Many 
passages  in  the  classics,  many  of  the  fables  of  mythology, 
much  of  the  poetry,  and  the  prose  of  modern  and  especially 
French  writers,  contain  insinuations  and  erotic  pictures,  seduc¬ 
tive  and  hazardous  to  the  eager  and  impressible  mind  of  boy¬ 
hood.  We  have  little  respect  for  the  man  or  woman  who 
“  sees  obscenity  in  pure  white  marble,”  or  who  can  discern 
only  vulgarity  in  the  myths  of  antiquity,  or  the  warm  deli¬ 
neations  of  the  poets ;  but  what  is  meat  for  the  strong  man 
may  be  poison  to  me  child. 

What  is  Passion? 

All  these  precautions  are  to  what  end  ?  To  avoid  exciting 
the  passion  of  sex.  It  is  well  to  hold  this  clearly  in  view ; 
and  it  is  also  well  to  understand  distinctly  what  this  passion 
is.  Through  a  want  of  tms  understanding,  the  most  extra¬ 
vagant  vagaries,  the  most  dreadful  asceticism,  and  the  wildest 
debauchery,  have  alike  claimed  sanction  from  the  holiest  of 
religions. 

Is  this  passion  a  fire  from  neaven,  or  a  subtle  flame  from 
hell?  Is  this  “furious  task-master,”  as  Cicero  calls  it,  to 
be  regarded  as  an  ever-present  witness  to  our  fallen  nature, 
as  one  of  the  imperfections  inevitably  rooted  in  our  bodies  by 
the  disobedience  of  our  first  parents  ?  We  cannot  to  such  a 
degree  accuse  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator ;  we  cannot  so 
4 


28 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


violate  tlm  analogy  of  organic  life;  we  cannot  so  do  ia- 
j  ustice  to  our  own  consciousness. 

The  noblest  and  the  most  unselfish  emotions  take  their  rise 
in  this  passion  of  sex ;  the  most  perfect  natures  are  moulded 
by  its  sweet  influence;  the  most  elevating  ties  which  bind 
humanity  to  holy  effort  are  formed  by  it.  True,  it  is  like 
the  genii  which  obeyed  the  magic  ring  in  oriental  tale ;  so 
long  as  the  owner  of  the  jewel  did  not  violate  its  law,  that 
long  the  genii  were  his  willing  slaves,  and  brought  him 
wealth  and  glory ;  but  when  he  became  untrue  to  himself, 
then  they  rose  upon  him,  and  hurried  him  away  defenceless 
to  the  gloomy  cavern,  and  the  unquenchable  flames.  The 
wise  man,  therefore,  will  recognize  in  the  emotions  of  youth 
a  power  of  good,  and  a  divinely  implanted  instinct,  which 
will,  if  properly  trained,  form  a  more  symmetrical  and  per¬ 
fected  being  than  could  possibly  be  in  its  absence ;  and  he 
will  have  impressed  upon  him  the  responsibility  which  de¬ 
volves  on  those  who  have  to  control  and  guide  this  instinct. 

It  is  not  at  the  period  of  puberty  that  passion  commences. 
In  fact,  it  is  hard  to  say,  how  early  it  may  not  be  present ; 
and  this  point  we  wish  to  impress  the  more  emphatically, 
because  parents  and  teachers,  in  spite  of  their  own  boyish 
experiences,  if  they  would  but  recall  them,  are  too  liable  to 
persuade  themselves  that  at  the  age  of  five  or  ten  years  no 
particular  precautions  are  necessary.  But  the  physician 
knows  that  even  in  infants  it  is  not  very  rare  to  witness  ex¬ 
citement  of  the  organs,  which  must  depend  on  the  action  of 
those  nerves  which  control  passion.  Self-abuse  not  uncom¬ 
monly  prevails  at  the  ages  we  have  mentioned,  and  proves 
the  early  development  of  the  instinct.  In  such  cases  it  is  a 
purely  nervous  phenomenon,  not  associated  with  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  the  secretion,  which  does  not  yet  exist,  nor  neces¬ 
sarily  with  libidinous  thoughts.  But  tnese,  too,  come  very 


THE  DEPTHS  OF  INIQUITY. 


29 


soon,  as  any  once  must  confess  who  is  a  close  observer  of 
boys;  and  at  whatever  age  the  habit  exists,  it  is  equally  re 
prehensible. 

The  danger  that  threatens  is  not  to  be  obviated  by  a 
complete  repression  or  an  annihilation  of  this  part  of  our 
nature  as  something  evil  in  itself,  but  by  recognizing  it  as  a 
natural,  prominent,  and  even  noble  faculty,  which  does  but 
need  intelligent  education  and  direction  to  become  a  source 
of  elevated  enjoyment  and  moral  improvement. 

Should  the  false  modesty,  the  ignorance,  or  the  neglect  of 
those  who  have  charge  of  youth  at  the  critical  period  when 
the  instinct  first  makes  itself  felt,  leave  it  to  wander  astray, 
it  is  with  the  certainty  of  ensuing  mental  anguish,  physical 
injury,  and  moral  debasement.  To  what  a  hideous  depth 
these  aberrations  of  passion  may  descend  we  dare  not  dis¬ 
close;  for,  as  the  apostle  says,  “it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak 
of  such  things.” 

Sufficient  to  say,  that  every  unnatural  lust  recorded  in  the 
mordant  satires  of  Juvenal,  the  cynical  epigrams  of  Martial, 
or  the  licentious  stories  of  Petronius,  is  practised,  not  in  rare 
or  exceptional  cases,  but  deliberately  and  habitually  in  the 
great  cities  of  our  country.  Did  we  choose  to  draw  the  veil 
from  those  abominable  scenes  with  which  our  professional  life 
has  brought  us  into  contact,  we  could  tell  of  the  vice  which 
called  vengeance  from  heaven  on  Sodom  practised  notori¬ 
ously  ;  we  could  speak  of  restaurants  frequented  by  men  in 
women’s  attire,  yielding  themselves  to  indescribable  lewdness; 
we  could  point  out  literature  so  inconceivably  devilish  as  to 
advocate  and  extol  this  utter  depravity.  But  it  is  enough 
for  us  to  hint  at  these  abysses  of  iniquity.  We  cannot  bring 
ourselves  to  do  more;  and  we  can  only  hope  that  the  fiery 
cautery  of  public  denunciation  will  soon  destroy  this  most 
malignant  of  ulcers. 


30 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


The  Man  Unsexed. 

To  illustrate  what  has  just  been  said,  we  can  draw  useful 
lessons  from  the  condition  of  those  who,  through  a  fiendish 
ingenuity  or  some  surgical  necessity,  have  been  deprived 
of  those  parts  which  are  the  font  of  passion ;  we  mean 
eunuchs.  In  ancient  times,  and  to  this  day  in  Oriental  na¬ 
tions,  these  unfortunates  are  frequently  found ;  they  are 
usually  slaves  who  have  suffered  mutilation  at  a  tender  age, 
and  are  employed  to  superintend  the  harems  of  the  wealthy. 

When  they  are  operated  upon  before  the  age  of  puberty, 
the  changes  we  have  mentioned  incident  to  that  period  do  not 
take  place.  The  voice  retains  its  childish  treble,  the  limbs 
their  soft  and  rounded  outlines,  the  neck  acquires  a  feminine 
fulness,  and  the  beard  does  not  appear. 

On  account  of  this  retention  of  the  voice,  the  mutilation 
was  not  infrequent  in  Europe  during  the  middle  ages,  and 
indeed  in  Italy  quite  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
The  so-called  castratos  were  employed  to  sing  in  the  concerts, 
and  especially  in  the  churches,  in  whose  choirs  women  were 
not  allowed.  There  is  a  bull  on  record  of  Pope  Clement 
XIY.,  especially  directed  against  the  practice,  and  pro¬ 
nouncing  the  ban  of  the  church  on  those  who  encouraged  it. 
This  testifies  to  its  wide  distribution. 

A  number  of  instances  are  reported  where  persons  had 
deliberately,  either  out  of  fanaticism  or  laboring  under  some 
form  of  mental  delusion,  destroyed  their  own  virility.  Ec¬ 
clesiastical  historians  assert  that  the  distinguished  father  of 
the  church,  Origen,  was  one  example  of  this.  He  wras  led  to 
do  so  by  a  too  literal  application  of  those  enigmatic  words 
reported  in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  :  “  There  be 
eunuchs  which  have  made  themselves  eunuchs  for  the  king¬ 
dom  of  Heaven’s  sake.” 


EFFECTS  OF  CASTRATION. 


31 


In  most  of  these  instances,  and  probably  in  all  where  the 
mutilation  has  been  suffered  when  young,  a  decided  effect  on 
the  mental  and  moral  character  is  observed.  Eunuchs  are 
proverbial  for  their  cruel,  crafty,  unsympathizing  dispositions; 
the  mental  powers  are  feeble ;  and  the  physical  strength  is 
inferior.  They  lack  both  courage  and  endurance,  and  supply 
their  place  with  cunning  and  mercilessness.  They  prow 
indeed,  that  in  their  want  of  that  power  which  connects  them 
with  posterity,  they  have  lost  something  necessary  to  the 
development  of  the  best  parts  of  their  nature.  This  should 
teach  us  that  it  is  a  wise  provision  which  stimulates  our  duty 
to  the  future  by  the  reward  of  present  pleasure. 

By  this  operation  the  power  of  sexual  intercourse  is  not 
altogether  lost,  but  there  is  entire  sterility.  The  body  is 
much  more  inclined  to  become  fat,  and  for  this  reason  the 
mutilation  is  practised  on  fowls  to  obtain  “capons,”  and  other 
animals  used  for  food. 


VIRILITY. 


Signs  of  Established  Virility. 

We  have  intimated  that  puberty  and  virility  are  by  no 
means  synonymous  terms.  The  former  is  a  season  of  change 
and  preparation.  The  constitution  is  summoning  all  its 
powers  to  prepare  the  individual  properly  to  protect  and 
provide  for  his  own  wants,  and  to  transmit  life  to  future 
generations.  When  the  growth  is  completed,  when  the 
beard  is  grown,  and  the  bones  hardened,  when  the  vague  and 
fleeting  fancies  of  youth  have  been  transformed  into  a  well- 
defined  yearning  for  home  and  children  and  a  help-meet 
then  the  season  of  virility  has  commenced.  Then,  and  not 
before,  is  it  right  for  the  male  to  exercise  those  functions 
peculiarly  his  own  ;  and  then,  only  when  this  is  accomplished 
as  a  subordinate  act,  conformed  to  moral  and  social  law,  and 
accessory  to  pure  mental  emotions.  At  the  outset  of  his 
career  let  him  learn  by  heart  and  frequently  repeat  these 
words  of  a  celebrated  physician,  who  spoke  from  a  wide  study 
of  man  in  all  his  relations :  “  In  proportion  as  the  human 
being  makes  the  temporary  gratification  of  the  mere  sexual 
appetite  his  chief  object,  and  overlooks  the  happiness  arising 
from  spiritual  communion,  which  is  not  only  purer  but  more 
permanent,  and  of  which  a  renewal  may  be  anticipated  in 
another  world — does  he  degrade  himself  to  a  level  with  the 
brutes  that  perish.” 

(32) 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  EXPLANATIONS. 


33 


But  the  distinctive  sign  of  completed  manhood  is  in  tho 
character  of  the  secretion  which  now  commences. 

It  is.  not  our  intention  to  write  upon  physiology  and 
anatomy.  This  would  be  foreign  to  a  work  which  proposes 
to  confine  itself  to  the  realm  of  hygiene.  And  we  do  not 
look  with  favor  on  those  books  which  by  their  half-dis¬ 
closures  and  unsavory  hints,  awaken  a  useless  curiosity,  which 
they  do  not  intend  to  satisfy.  But  it  seems  necessary  to 
speak  here  with  distinctness  of  one  physiological  point,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  intimately  connected  with  the  health  of  the  male, 
and  without  some  clear  comprehension  of  it,  much  that  we 
shall  have  to  speak  of  in  the  nature  of  warnings  and  cautions 
would  be  unintelligible.  We  trust  that  an  honest  purpose, 
and  scientific  accuracy  will  guide  us  correctly. 

The  secretion  peculiar  to  the  male,  known  as  the  seed  or 
sperm,  depends  for  its  life-transmitting  power  on  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  certain  minute  vibratory  bodies,  about  one-fortieth 
of  a  line  in  length,  called  spermatozoa.  These  are  exceed¬ 
ingly  numerous  and  active  when  the  secretion  is  healthy.  A 
single  one  of  them — and  there  are  many  hundreds  in  a  drop 
- — is  sufficient  to  bring  about  conception  in  the  female.  They 
not  only  have  a  rapid  vibratory  motion,  but  singular  vitality. 
The  secreted  fluid  has  been  frozen  and  kept  at  a  tempera¬ 
ture  of  zero  for  four  days,  yet  when  it  was  thawed  these 
animalcules,  as  they  are  supposed  to  be,  were  as  active  as 
ever.  They  are  not,  however,  always  present,  and  when 
present  may  be  of  variable  activity.  In  young  men,  just 
past  puberty,  and  in  aged  men,  they  are  often  scarce  and 
languid  in  motion.  Occasionally  they  are  entirely  absent  in 
otherwise  hale  men,  and  this  is  one  of  the  causes  of  sterility 
in  the  male.  Their  presence  or  absence  can  only  be  detected 
by  the  microscope. 

The  organs  in  which  this  secretion  is  elaborated  from  the 


34 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


blood  are  the  testicles.  Previous  to  birth,  these  small 
rounded,  firm  bodies  are  in  the  abdomen,  and  only  descew 
a  short  time  before  the  child  is  born.  They  are  composed 
of  a  vast  number  or  minute  tubes  united  together  by  con¬ 
nective  tissue.  The  total  length  of  the  tubes  is  estimated 
at  forty-eight  hundred  feet,  or  nearly  one  mile  !  Neverthe¬ 
less,  so  small  are  they,  that  their  full  capacity  is  not  more 
than  six  cubic  centimetres. 

The  left  testicle,  though  usually  suspended  lower  than  the 
right,  is  somewhat  smaller,  the  difference  in  weight  being 
about  ten  grains.  The  secretion  is  most  active  about  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  and  decreases  after  this  period  as  age  ad¬ 
vances.  It  is,  however,  not  constant,  depending  very  much 
on  physical  and  moral  causes.  In  some  men  it  is  periodical 
or  intermittent,  and  they  are  therefore  entirely  impotent  at 
times,  without  at  all  impairing  their  vigor  at  other  times. 

The  testicles  are  subject  to  special  diseases,  which  may 
seriously  impair  their  action.  Mumps  sometimes  changes 
from  the  face  to  them,  causing  painful  swelling,  and  fro 
quently  a  similar  attack  occurs  in  venereal  diseases.  In¬ 
flammation  may  arise  from  an  injury,  and  also  from  violent 
and  ungratified  sexual  excitement.  All  these  affections 
may  lead  to  loss  of  power  and  sterility,  and  it  does  not 
answer,  therefore,  to  neglect  them.  Diseases  which  are  not 
connected  with  the  genital  organs  do  not  seem  to  produce 
any  after-influence  on  the  secretion  in  the  adult  in  middle 
life,  but  in  aged  persons,  on  the  other  hand,  this  is  a  fre¬ 
quent  occurrence. 

A  secretion  is  formed  before  puberty,  but  it  is  always 
without  these  vibratory  bodies.  Only  after  that  period  is  it 
formed  healthily  and  regularly  by  the  proper  glands.  This  is 
usually  to  such  an  extent  that  more  or  less  of  it  passes  from 
the  person  once  in  a  while  during  sleep.  Thousands  of  young 


THE  CONTINENCE  OE  ATHLETES. 


35 


men  ignorantly  attribute  this  perfectly  natural  evacuation 
to  some  weakness  of  the  function.  They  are  in  error. 
Within  certain  limits,  as  we  shall  fully  explain  hereafter 
this  is  a  natural,  healthy,  and  necessary  effort  of  the  system 
quite  as  much  so  as  an  evacuation  from  the  bowels  or  the 
bladder.  It  is  to  our  present  purpose  to  say  that  moderate 
flows  of  this  nature  are  a  proof  of  virility,  when  the  secre¬ 
tion  thus  emitted  is  of  proper  character.  Observers  have 

noted  that  that  produced  soon  after  puberty  is  feeble,  and 

♦ 

generally  fruitless,  or  if  capable  of  fecundating,  the  child 
thus  produced  is  weakly,  and  apt  to  be  exposed  to  disease. 

At  the  period  of  virility  the  desires  should  not  only  change 
in  purpose,  but  they  should  be  less  easily  excited,  more 
completely  under  the  dominion  of  reason,  more  readily  sub¬ 
jugated  than  before.  It  is  a  gross  and  dangerous  error  to 
suppose  that  ardent  desires  are  a  sign  of  vigorous  health. 
This  is  a  delusion  which  should  be  destroyed.  Those  men 
who  have  the  finest  physiques,  the  most  athletic  frames,  and 
are  in  thorough  “condition,”  experience  least  acutely  the 
spur  of  desire.  The  ancients  frequently  refer  to  the  con¬ 
tinence  of  the  athletae,  and  the  gymnasts  of  our  cities  are 
always  temperate  in  indulgence.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a 
nearly  constant  symptom  of  certain  dangerous  diseases  that 
the  passions  are  unusually  easily  excited.  The  first  stage 
of  pulmonary  consumption  is  frequently  thus  characterized, 
while  it  is  notorious  that  leprosy,  certain  obstinate  skin  dis¬ 
eases,  and  slow  poisoning,  especially  that  by  diseased  rye- 
flour,  morbidly  influence  the  desires  to  an  extent  most 
damaging  to  the  constitution. 

Hygiene  of  Virility. 

Those  who  are  already  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health 
will  need  but  few  instructions  to  retain  their  strength  at  this 


86 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


period  of  life.  They  must,  however,  bear  in  mind  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  advancing  years,  and  the  facility  to  disease  which 
ever  accompanies  declining  age.  Therefore  they  must  avoid 
all  excesses,  restrict  the  indulgence  of  desire  within  moderate 
bounds,  and  if  unmarried,  live  lives  not  only  continent  but 
c/ias£er. avoiding  not  merely  vices  which  are  condemned  both 
by  statute  and  religion,  but  also  all  impure  thoughts  and 
conversations.  For  the  latter,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
show  more  fully  hereafter,  are  enervating  to  the  body  as  well 
as  demoralizing  to  the  mind.  The  functions  of  sex  are  so  inti¬ 
mately  allied  to  the  mental  condition  that  the  one  sympathizes 
invariably  with  the  other,  and  what  degrades  one,  with  little 
short  of  absolute  certainty  impairs  the  other. 

Then  the  man  at  middle  life  should  be  aware  that  to  en¬ 
sure  either  a  respected  or  a  happy  old  age,  he  must  at  least 
make  up  his  mind  to  renounce  forever  the  exercise  of  his 
sexual  powers,  and  with  this  in  view,  he  should,  as  years 
progress,  steadily  wean  himself  more  and  more  from  the 
control  of  desire,  and  fix  his  thoughts  on  those  philanthropic 
and  unselfish  projects  which  add  beauty  to  age,  and  are  the 
crown  to  gray  hairs.  What  more  nauseous  and  repulsive 
object  than  a  libidinous  and  worn-out  old  man,  heating  his 
diseased  imagination  with  dreams  and  images  which  his 
chilled  and  impotent  body  can  no  longer  carry  into  effect  ? 

But  as  in  the  interest  of  the  general  health,  and  also  of  men¬ 
tal  vigor,  it  is  important  virile  powers  be  retained  to  the  latest 
period  of  which  they  are  capable,  as  the  whole  body  shares 
in  their  strength  and  sympathizes  in  their  debility,  it  is  the 
duty  of  all  to  observe  such  precepts  as  will  defer  the  loss  of 
virility  to  the  most  distant  days. 

In  general,  in  this  country,  we  may  assign  the  period  of 
virility  to  commence  at  twenty-five  years  of  age  and  to  draw 
to  a  close  at  forty-five,  thus  extending  over  a  score  of  years. 


EXAMPLES  OF  PROLONGED  VIRILITY.  37 

During  this  period  the  physical  and  intellectual  activity  of 
most  men  is  at  its  height.  They  are  capable  of  their  best, 
and  whether  in  business  or  in  scholarship,  usually  accomplish 
the  most  for  which  they  are  spoken  of  and  remembered.  The 
children  born  to  them  during  this  time  are  more  vigorous, 
and  are  endowed  with  more  active  powers,  than  those  be¬ 
gotten  either  before  or  after  these  limits.  From  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  the  organs  yield  immature  and  imperfect  secre¬ 
tion,  later  than  forty-five  the  passions  grow  rarer  and  briefer, 
and  the  individual  suffers  more  acutely  from  every  attempt 
to  increase  the  species. 

There  are,  however,  some  striking  examples  on  record 
showing  how  a  good  constitution  supported  by  proper  care, 
can  escape  the  action  of  this  law  for  many  years. 

The  Latin  historian  Sallust,  relates  of  Masinissa,  king  of 
Numidia,  that  he  married  at  the  age  of  fourscore  and  five 
years,  and  had  a  vigorous  infant  born  to  him  after  that  time. 

Still  more  remarkable  is  the  instance  of  a  Frenchman 
named  De  Longue ville,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  110  years. 
He  married  his  last  wife  when  in  his  ninety-ninth  year,  and 
she  bore  him  a  son  when  he  was  in  his  hundred  and  first  year. 

The  famous  Thomas  Parr,  of  Shropshire,  England,  who 
lived  to  the  almost  unexampled  age  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  years,  married  his  second  wife  when  above  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  of  age.  She  lived  with  him  twelve 
years,  and  although  she  bore  no  children,  she  asserted  that 
during  that  time  he  never  betrayed  any  signs  of  infirmity  or 
age. 

But  certainly  the  most  astonishing  example  of  prolonged 
virility  was  Baravicino  de  Capellis,  a  nobleman  of  Tyrob 
who  died,  aged  104,  in  1770.  He  married  in  his  eighty- 
fourth  year  a  young  and  healthy  woman,  by  whom  he  had 
eight  children !  So  that  it  is  evident  that  mere  age  does  not 


58 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


destroy  virility,  but  that  it  endures  with  the  other  bodily 
powers. 

Thus  it  becomes  a  matter  of  no  little  interest,  since  we  see 
such  vigor  is  possible,  to  investigate  the  means  by  which  it 
may  be  obtained.  With  this  in  view,  we  shall  proceed  to 
some  inquiries  concerning 

The  Decay  of  Virility. 

The  age  of  forty-five  years,  which  we  have  just  stated  as 
the  average  term  at  which  sexual  decadence  commences,  is 
very  far  from  a  fixed  rule.  Perhaps  in  no  one  cyclical 
change  in  life  do  individuals  differ  more  than  in  this.  In  our 
great  cities,  where  inherited  debility  is  added  to  a  luxurious 
and  dissipated  life,  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to  find  men  of  forty 
in  whom  the  procreative  faculty  is  about  extinct.  While, 
on  the  contrary,  as  we  have  just  seen,  instances  are  not 
wanting  where  men  have  married  and  had  children,  un¬ 
doubtedly  their  own,  at  the  advanced  ages  of  fourscore, 
ninety,  and  even  one  hundred  years. 

“  It  is  usually  at  the  age  of  fifty  or  sixty,”  says  the  emi¬ 
nent  French  physician,  Dr.  Parise,  in  his  treatise  on  old 
age — putting  the  change  of  life  in  the  male  at  a  somewhat 
later  date  than  seems  to  us  to  hold  good  in  this  country — 
“that  the  generative  functions  become  weakened.  It  is  at 
this  period  that  a  man  begins  to  mark  that  power  decrease, 
and  is  apt  to  do  so  with  a  feeling  almost  akin  to  indignation. 
The  first  step  toward  feebleness  announces  to  him,  beyond 
all  doubt,  that  he  is  not  the  man  he  was.  He  may  husband 
his  strength,  and  retard  the  effect  up  to  a  certain  point  by 
judicious  living,  but  not  avoid  it  alogether.  The  law  of 
decrepitude  is  hard  to  bear,  but  it  is  still  a  law.  The  ac¬ 
tivity  of  the  organs  diminishes,  their  functions  abate,  they 


WORDS  TO  THE  OLD. 


39 


languish,  and  at  length  cease  entirely.  The  blood  flows 
thither  in  smaller  quantities.  The  sensibility  becomes 
blunted,  the  parts  wrinkle  and  wither,  the  power  of  erec¬ 
tion  disappears,  and  the  secretion  loses  its  consistence  and 
force.” 

Generally,  and  always  in  the  healthy  state,  step  by  step 
with  these  physical  changes  the  passions  likewise  lose  their 
force,  and  change  in  nature.  Love,  which  in  early  youth 
was  impetuous  and  sensual,  which  in  middle  life  was  power¬ 
ful,  but  controlled  and  centred  in  the  family,  should  at  the 
decline  of  life  be  freed  from  animal  propensities,  assume  a 
purely  moral  character,  and  be  directed  toward  the  younger 
generations,  the  children  and  grandchildren,  or,  when  these 
are  not,  should  find  its  proper  sphere  of  activity  in  philan¬ 
thropic  endeavor,  and  patriotic  attachment. 

Like  the  ancient  philosopher,  the  old  should  be  able  to 
recall  the  memory  of  departed  pleasure  without  a  sigh  of  vain 
regret,  and  they  should  adapt  themselves  with  determined 
mind  to  the  altered  condition  of  their  physical  life.  Let 
them  bear  in  mind  the  reply  of  Cicero,  who,  when  asked  in 
old  age  if  he  ever  indulged  in  the  pleasures  of  love,  replied, 
“Heaven  forbid!  I  have  forsworn  it  as  I  would  a  savage 
and  furious  taskmaster.”  If  this  prospect  seems  a  cheerless 
one  to  the  fiery  youth  or  the  vigorous  adult,  let  him  remem¬ 
ber  that  desire  subsides  with  power,  and  that  it  is  still  within 
his  reach  by  the  observance  of  wise  precautions  and  a  proper 
rule  cl  life,  to  extend  the  period  of  virility  considerably  be¬ 
yond  the  limit  we  have  set  to  it.  How  this  is  to  be  done 
we  shall  presently  reveal. 

Whenever  old  age  is  tormented  by  passions  which  either 
cannot  be  gratified,  or  gratified  only  at  the  expense  of 
health,  one  of  two  causes  is  at  work.  Either  there  is  some 
local  irritation  from  a  diseased  condition  of  the  bladder  or 


40 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


adjacent  parts  of  the  nervous  system,  or  else  it  is  a  sting 
which  previous  libidinous  excesses  either  in  thought  or  act 
have  left  behind.  For, 

“  The  gods  are  just,  and  of  our  pleasant  vices, 

Make  instruments  to  scourge  us.” 

In  the  latter  case  the  priest,  rather  than  the  physician,  is 
their  proper  attendant.  He  will  tell  them,  as  Othello  told 
Desdemona,  that  they  require 

“  A  sequester  from  liberty,  fasting,  and  prayer, 

Much  castigation,  exercise  devout.’ 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand — and  this  is  much  more  fre¬ 
quently  the  case — these  passions  are  excited  by  local  or 
general  irritation,  then  the  physician  and  the  surgeon  must 
be  consulted.  Some  writers  call  the  period  of  decadence 
“the  change  of  life  in  man,”  and  aver  that  it  is  attended 
with  almost  as  many  diseases  and  dangers  as  the  correspond¬ 
ing  epoch  in  the  physical  life  of  woman. 

At  this  period  he  is  most  exposed  to  those  maladies  which 
have  their  seat  in  the  bladder  and  connected  portions  of  the 
body.  Gravel  and  stone,  difficulty  in  relieving  the  organ, 
affections  of  the  kidney,  and  swelling  of  the  glandular  struc¬ 
tures,  make  their  appearance.  So,  too,  it  is  about  this  epoch 
that  gout,  chronic  rheumatism,  plethora,  vertigo,  and  apo¬ 
plexy  are  most  frequent.  Ik  may,  indeed,  be  doubted  if 
these  various  signs  of  approaching  decrepitude  are  any  more 
closely  connected  with  the  change  which  takes  place  in  the 
sexual  organs,  than  are  the  grayness  and  baldness,  the  dim¬ 
ness  of  sight,  the  quavering  and  broken  voice  and  uncertainty 
of  muscular  movement,  which  are  associated  with  them.  But 
certain  it  is  that  the  association  is  a  most  intimate  one,  and 
we  are  perfectly  justified  in  saying  that  virility  is  a  test  of 
the  general  physical  powers,  and  that  if  it  is  preserved  in 


WORDS  TO  THE  YOUNG. 


41 


a  healthy  and  vigorous  condition,  these  signs  of  advancing 
age  can  be  long  postponed. 

This  is  the  chief,  and  there  are  many  other  reasons  why  a 
man  should  so  live,  and  so  order  his  labors,  his  nourishment, 
and  his  pleasures,  as  to  retain  to  the  furthest  natural  limit 
the  exercise  of  his  specific  powers.  So  intimately  are  these 
allied  to  the  well-being  of  the  whole  economy,  that  unless  he 
is  guarded  and  wise  in  their  management,  he  will  undermine 
his  general  health,  and  render  vain  all  other  precautions 
he  may  take.  Therefore  it  is,  that  we  deem  it  eminently 
proper  to  lay  down  definite  directions  how  to  retain  virility. 

Causes  that  hasten  the  loss  of  Virility. 

He  who  would  secure  a  green  old  age  must  commence  his 
cares  when  young.  Not  many  men  can  fritter  away  a  de¬ 
cade  or  two  of  years  in  dissipation  and  excess,  and  ever  hope 
to  make  up  their  losses  by  rigid  surveillance  in  later  years. 
“  The  sins  of  youth  are  expiated  in  age,”  is  a  proverb  which 
daily  examples  illustrate.  In  proportion  as  puberty  is  pre¬ 
cocious,  will  decadence  be  premature  ;  the  excesses  of  middle 
life  draw  heavily  on  the  fortune  of  later  years.  “  The  mill 
©f  the  gods  grinds  slow,  but  it  grinds  exceedingly  fine,”  and 
though  nature  may  be  a  tardy  creditor,  she  is  found  at  last 
to  be  an  inexorable  one.  In  the  strange  lines  of  the  ec¬ 
centric  Irish  poet,  Clarence  Mangan,  we  may  say  to  our 
young  readers : — 

“  Guard  your  fire  in  youth,  0  Friends, 

For  manhood’s  is  but  phosphorus, 

And  small  luck  or  grace  attends, 

Gay  boaters  down  the  Bosphorus.” 

We  enjoin,  therefore,  strict,  absolute,  unswerving  chastity 
to  the  young  and  the  celibate ;  a  judicious  marriage  at 


42 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


virility ,  and  an  avoidance  of  excess  or  immoderation  after 
marriage.  As  years  increase,  the  solicitations  of  love  should 
be  more  and  more  rarely  indulged  in ;  and  they  should  at 
last  be  wholly  avoided  when  they  leave  a  sensation  of  pros¬ 
tration,  or  mental  dulness  or  disturbance.  If  at  any  time 
during  middle  life  or  later,  absence,  or  the  death  of  a  wife, 
should  enforce  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  masculine 
powers,  the  greatest  caution  should  be  exercised  on  resuming 
their  use  on  return  or  a  second  marriage.  One  of  the  best 
authorities,  Mr.  Acton  of  London,  says  on  this  subject,  “  Expe¬ 
rience  has  taught  me  how  vastly  different  is  the  situation  of 
the  class  of  moderate  men,  who,  having  married  early,  and 
regularly  indulged  their  passions  at  longer  and  longer  inter¬ 
vals.  seldom  come  under  the  medical  man’s  notice,  from  that  of 
widowers  of  some  years’  standing,  or  men  who  have,  through 
the  demand  of  public  or  other  duties,  been  separated  from 
their  wives  during  prolonged  periods.  When  the  latter 
class,  after  leading  lives  of  chastity,  suddenly  resume  sexual 
intercourse,  they  are  apt  to  suffer  greatly  from  generative 
disorders.  The  sudden  call  on  the  nervous  system  after 
years  of  rest,  gives  a  shock  to  any  constitution,  and  espe¬ 
cially  to  those  who  are  already  somewhat  feeble.”  These  ill- 
consequences  result,  not  from  the  mere  fact  of  the  resumption 
of  marital  privileges,  but  because  there  is  often  too  great 
violence  done  to  the  constitution  by  an  unrestrained  indul¬ 
gence.  In  all  such  instances,  the  pleasures  of  the  marriage 
bed  should  be  temperate  and  guarded. 

Diseases  which  shorten  Virility. 

Apart  from  those  disorders,  such  as  acute  inflammations, 
cancer,  and  sloughing  ulcers,  which  actually  destroy  the 
organs,  there  are  a  number  which  excite  a  morbid  activity, 


EFFECTS  OF  SKIN  DISEASES. 


45 


prompting  to  excess  or  repeated  nocturnal  flows,  resulting 
in  premature  decadence.  •  In  general  terms  any  disease  which 
unnaturally  stimulates  the  carnal  desires  has  this  effect. 
Some  of  them  we  shall  mention. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  is  piles.  These  often  produce  a 
burning  and  itching  in  the  vicinity,  the  blood  accumulates 
in  the  veins  of  that  region  of  the  body,  and  acts  as  a  me^ 
chanical  irritant.  For  the  same  reason,  any  skin  disease  in 
that  locality  leads  to  friction  and  heat,  which  are  very  apt 
to  evoke  lustful  thoughts  and  acts.  So  familiar  even  to  the 
more  ignorant  classes  is  this,  that  Goethe  makes  use  of  it  in 
the  first  part  of  Faust  in  a  conversation  between  two  ap¬ 
prentices  :  One  says  : — 

“  NacU  nurgdorf  kommt  herauf.  Gewiss  dort  findet  ihr 
Die  schonsten  Miidchen  und  das  beste  Bier.” 

To  which  his  friend  replies 

“Du  iiberlustiger  Gesell, 

Juckt  dich  zurn  dritten  Mai  das  Fell  ?” 

Undoubtedly  one  reason  of  the  proverbial  sensuality  of  the 
lower  classes  in  warm  climates  is  their  want  of  cleanliness, 
which  leads  to  various  cutaneous  diseases,  and  also  to  the 
presence  of  vermin. 

Acidity  of  the  urine,  causing  a  burning  sensation  as  it 
passes,  gravel  or  stone  in  the  bladder,  and  organic  changes 
in  structure  are  all  likewise  liable  to  impel  to  dangerous 
excess. 

Diseases  of  portions  of  the  system  quite  remote  may  have 
similar  effects.  Several  instances  are  on  record  where  vio¬ 
lent  debauches  ending  in  debility  and  death  have  been  dis¬ 
covered  to  have  been  prompted  by  a  change  in  the  structure 
of  the  brain.  Physiologists  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
curious  fact  that  if  the  posterior  portion  of  the  brain  be  in- 


44 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


jured  or  diseased,  a  distressing  excitement  of  the  venereal 
passions  is  sometimes  brought  about,  entirely  beyond  the 
control  of  the  patient,  and  leading  him  to  acts  epiite  contrary 
to  the  habits  and  the  principles  of  his  previous  life.  This 
strange  sympathy  should  lead  us  to  be  cautious  in  pro¬ 
nouncing  judgment  on  those  who  after  a  long  course  of  virtue 
suddenly  give  way  to  temptation.  For  the  secret  of  their 
action  may  be,  and  undoubtedly  often  is,  some  unrecognized 
affection  of  the  brain.  Occasionally  our  daily  papers  seize 
upon  some  scandalous  story  in  which  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
is  represented  to  have  forfeited  a  character  maintained  in 
purity  for  many  years.  Uncharitable  comments,  not  unfre- 
quently  aimed  at  Christianity  itself,  are  often  appended  to 
the  narrative.  Yet  who  can  tell  in  how  many  instances  such 
falls  are  owing  to  an  overworked  brain  finally  giving  way, 
and  leading  to  actions  for  which  the  man  cannot  be  held 
responsible  ?  Physicians  to  the  insane  well  know  that  pre 
cisely  those  who  in  their  sane  moments  are  most  pure  in  life 
and  thought,  are,  in  accesses  of  frenzy,  liable  to  break  out  in 
obscene  language.  Thus  Shakspeare,  that  great  master  of 
the  human  heart,  whose  portraitures  of  insanity  are  mar¬ 
vellously  correct,  makes  the  chaste  Ophelia,  when  her  reason 
is  dethroned,  sing  libidinous  songs,  and  repeat  indecent  al¬ 
lusions. 

Consumption  in  its  first  stage  when  it  is  hardly  suspected, 
and  leprosy,  as  well  as  scrofulous  affections  of  several  kinds, 
and  disease  of  the  spinal  cord,  we  have  already  mentioned 
as  provoking  an  unnatural,  and,  under  the  circumstances, 
peculiarly  injurious  inclination  to  indulgence. 

In  all  instances  of  this  nature,  the  patient — for  such  he 
really  should  consider  himself — should  have  no  hesitation  in 
making  his  case  known  to  an  intelligent  medical  friend  He 
may  perhaps,  by  a  few  simple  and  timely  remedies,  relieve 


OCCUPATION  AND  HEALTH. 


45 


himself  of  inopportune  emotions,  and  insure  for  himself  years 
of  strength,  where  a  contrary  course  will  hasten  him  to  his 
grave. 

Effects  of  Occupations  and  Exercises. 

Very  little  attention  has  been  paid  by  previous  writers  to 
the  effects  which  the  various  occupations  exert  on  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  virility.  The  importance  of  this  consideration 
we  have  just  instanced  in  reference  to  brain  diseases.  "When 
mental  exertion  is  so  arduous  or  so  long-continued  as  to  lead 
to  some  variety  of  insanity,  it  is  not  unfrequently  the  case 
that  an  unnatural  sexual  excitement  accompanies  it.  Many 
instances  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  induced  by  soli¬ 
tary  vice,  in  fact  have  led  to  and  not  been  caused  by  this 
degrading  habit. 

Many  years  since,  Professor  Lallemand,  a  distinguished 
physician  of  Montpelier,  remarked  that  persons  accustomed 
to  long-continued  exercise  on  horseback,  forfeit  their  powers 
early,  and  are  apt  to  be  afflicted  with  a  weakness  of  the 
organs,  passing  sometimes  into  actual  spermatorrhoea. 

Those  avocations  which  produce  a  flow  of  blood  to  the 
lower  regions  of  the  body,  as  by  continued  walking,  or  by 
sitting  in  cushioned  chairs,  are  also  weakening. 

So  also  are  those  which  expose  a  person  for  many  hours 
daily  to  an  air  impregnated  with  the  odor  of  tobacco,  or  the 
evaporation  of  spirituous  liquors. 

Confining  occupations  are  inimical  to  prolonged  virility. 
A  change  of  climate  once  every  eight  or  ten  years  by  passing 
a  winter  in  a  southern  latitude,  is  of  great  benefit  to  the 
general  health  as  well  as  the  specific  powers.  It  should  be 
taken  whenever  possible. 


46 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


How  to  retain  Virility  in  Age. 

From  what  lias  been  said,  the  reader  will  now  be  prepared 
to  understand  the  essential  difference  which  exists  between 
a  nervous  function,  like  that  concerned  in  the  reproduction 
of  life,  and  muscular  power.  This  antagonism  in  their  nature 
exists :  by  frequent  exercise  the  muscular  system  increases 
in  strength,  and  decreases  in  irritability ;  but  the  nerve 
force,  by  repeated  calls  upon  it,  increases  in  irritability,  but 
decreases  in  strength.  The  more  frequently  sensation  is 
evoked  in  a  nerve,  the  greater  is  its  sensitiveness  and  its 
debility.  This  physiological  law,  first  distinctly  enunciated 
by  a  celebrated  French  anatomist,  is  constantly  overlooked. 
From  it  we  learn  that  in  order  to  preserve  in  the  greatest 
vigor  and  most  perfect  health  any  nervous  function,  our  aim 
should  be  to  excite  and  stimulate  it  as  little  as  possible.  No¬ 
where  does  this  law  find  a  more  striking  illustration  than  in 
those  functions  which  pertain  to  sex.  And  the  secret,  there¬ 
fore,  of  preserving  their  activity  to  advanced  years,  resolves 
itself  into  avoiding  all  stimidants  and  excitants.  Jby  this 
we  do  not  mean  either  to  recommend  asceticism,  or  uniform 
continence,  but  to  observe  temperance  and  discretion,  to 
limit  one’s  self  in  the  use  of  those  articles  of  food  or  drinx  which 
by  stimulation  ultimately  debilitate,  and  to  govern  one’s 
life  by  sound  laws  of  health  and  morals.  It  is  in  tnis  sense 
we  shall  proceed  to  speak  of  a  sedative  yet  fortifying  nour¬ 
ishment,  as 

The  Food  and  Brinks  which  strengthen  Virility. 

The  influence  of  animal  as  opposed  to  vegetable  food  upon 
life  and  health  has  often  been  discussed.  All  readers  are 
aware  that  certain  theorists  maintain  that  man  as  a  species 


ANIMAL  OR  VEGETABLE  FOOL. 


47 


Is  a  herbivorous  or  a  frugivorous  animal,  and  that  he  will 
never  attain  his  natural  term  of  life  and  exemption  from 
disease  until  he  renounces  all  flesh-pots  whatsoever.  With 
this  extreme  idea  we  have  nothing  in  common.  But  we  are 
nevertheless  of  opinion  that  altogether  too  much  meat  is 
consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States.  In  no 
other  country  are  three  meals  of  meat  a  day  served  up,  as  is 
frequently  the  case  with  us.  We  believe  that  except  under 
circumstances  where  there  is  arduous  muscular  exertion, 
once  a  day  is  often  enough  to  consume  much  animal  food. 

From  ancient  times  it  has  been  well  known  that  a  wholly 
or  chiefly  vegetable  diet  favors  the  subjugation  of  the  pas¬ 
sions,  and  hence  it  wras  recommended  to  persons  of  violent 
desires,  and  enjoined  on  celibate  orders  of  priesthood.  Par¬ 
ticularly  those  vegetables  which  contain  a  large  percentage 
of  vegetable  fibre  and  of  water,  as  the  cabbage,  turnips, 
beets,  melons,  and  carrots,  and  those  which  contain  acids 
and  some  soporific  principle,  as  sorrel,  sour  fruits,  lettuce, 
chiccory,  endive,  and  other  salads,  are  reported  to  have 
especial  virtues  in  this  direction. 

A  too  exclusive  use  of  any  such  diet  would,  however,  be 
apt  to  bring  about  physical  debility,  and  for  that  reason  it 
should  not  be  recommended.  A  moderate  quantity  of  fresh 
meat  should  be  used  daily,  and  when  a  choice  is  given,  it 
should  be  taken  eroded  or  roasted,  as  thus  prepared  it  is 
more  readily  digested,  and  preserves  the  whole  system  in. 
better  health. 

Fresh  fish,  shell-fish,  such  as  oysters,  and  eggs,  have  a 
popular  reputation  in  this  respect,  which  they  have  obtained 
simply  because  they  are  highly  nutritive  and  readily  digesti¬ 
ble.  It  is  indeed  possible,  that  the  first-mentioned  has  some 
peculiar  tonic  influence,  owing  to  a  small  portion  of  phos¬ 
phorus  which  it  usually  contains,  that  chemical  element 


48 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


having  a  powerful  effect  in  maintaining  nervous  force.  Is¬ 
landers  and  sea-coast  tribes,  subsisting  principally  on  fish, 
much  of  it  eaten  raw,  are  often  reported  in  books  of  travel 
to  be  unusually  salacious. 

Those  who  oppose  an  animal  diet,  for  a  similar  reason  ob¬ 
ject  to  the  use  of  condiments  to  any  great  extent.  Here 
they  are  right.  We  eat  altogether  too  much  highly  seasoned 
food.  Our  peppers  and  curries  are  too  stimulating  for  our 
good,  and  we  would  be  in  the  enjoyment  of  better  health  if 
wre  were  exceedingly  sparing  in  their  employment.  Like 
other  excitants,  taken  in  quantity,  they  confer  an  ephemeral 
and  deceitful  energy,  certain  to  be  followed  sooner  or  later 
by  a  reaction  and  a  corresponding  deficiency  of  power.  In 
Spanish  America,  where  the  use  of  red  pepper  is  carried  to 
an  astonishing_extent,  its  injurious  effects  are  often  wit¬ 
nessed  by  the  physician.  In  moderate  quantities,  however, 
it  cannot  be  objected  to,  but  rather  approved. 

In  the  matter  of  beverages,  the  one  most  to  be  recom¬ 
mended  is  chocolate.  This  is,  or  should  be  made  from  the 
fruit  of  the  cacao  tree,  and  is  closely  similar  to  cacao  and 
broma.  A  most  excellent  and  nourishing  preparation  is  that 
known  as  racahout,  a  mixture  of  cacao  and  starch,  flavored 
with  vanilla.  Both  the  cacao  and  vanilla  have  long  enjoyed 
a  reputation  as  fortifying  the  sexual  system.  Tea  in  limited 
quantities  is  not  to  be  condemned,  but  coffee,  except  in 
great  moderation,  should  not  be  indulged  in,  for  reasons  we 
shall  presently  state. 

Passing  now  to 

The  Food  and  Drinks  which  Weaken  Virility, 

We  sum  up  in  one  sentence  all  the  highly-seasoned  arti¬ 
cles,  and  too  exclusively  animal  diet,  which  we  spoke  of  in 


EFFECTS  OF  ALCOHOL, 


49 


the  last  section.  The  system  should  neither  be  enfeebled  by 
insufficient  or  innutritious  food,  nor  should  it  be  stimulated 
by  artificial  means.  No  other  excitants  than  the  natural 
impulses  must  be  summoned,  under  penalty  of  a  premature 
decadence  of  force.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  any  kind 
of  aliment  which  causes  dyspeptic  troubles,  or  brings  on 
constipation  or  diarrhoea,  or  irritates  the  stomach  or  bowels 
should  be  avoided. 

In  this  category  we  distinctly  include  most  alcoholic  beve¬ 
rages.  Even  the  ancients  recognized  the  debilitating  effects 
of  intoxicating  compounds  on  the  reproductive  functions. 
“  Venus  drowned  in  Bacchus”  was  one  of  their  proverbial 
expressions ;  and  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  philosophical 
disquisition  on  drinking  and  lechery,  which  the  porter  in 
Macbeth  reads  to  Macduff : — 

“  Lechery,  sir,  drinking  provokes  and  unprovokes  :  it  pro¬ 
vokes  the  desire  but  it  takes  away  the  performance ;  it 
makes  him  and  it  mars  him ;  it  sets  him  on,  and  it  takes 
him  off ;  it  persuades  him,  and  it  disheartens  him etc. 
[Macbeth,  Act.  II.  Scene  III.) 

When  in  Rabelais’  romance,  Panurge  applies  to  the  learned 
doctor  Rondibilis  for  some  means  to  conquer  his  passions, 
the  first  resource  which  the  erudite  counsellor  suggests 
is  wine,  Par  le  vin.  “  Because,”  he  goes  on  to  explain, 
“  through  intemperance  in  wine  the  constitution  is  chilled, 
the  nervous  force  is  weakened,  the  male  secretion  is  dissipated, 
the  senses  are  dulled,  the  movements  are  irregular,  all  of 
which  interfere  with  the  powers  of  reproduction.”  Though 
these  are  perhaps  not  authorities  acknowledged  by  the  faculty, 
they  are  the  reports  of  shrewd  observers,  and  are  borne  out 
by  daily  experience.  Drunkards  and  tipplers  suffer  early 
loss  of  virility,  and  this  is  another  argument — if  any  other 
is  needed — in  favor  of  the  temperance  movement. 


50 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


To  the  arguments  of  Kondibilis — which  are  just  as  sound 
now  as  when  Kabelais,  himself  a  famous  physician,  wrote 
them  three  hundred  years  ago — we  may  add  that  modern 
experiments  have  proven  that  distilled  spirits  very  frequently 
cause  a  slight  inflammation  of  the  stomach  and  that  malt 
liquors,  being  prepared  in  part  from  an  infusion  of  hops, 
contain  a  certain  proportion  of  the  principle  “  lupulin”  con¬ 
tained  in  that  plant,  which  has  a  specific  enervating  effect 
on  the  masculine  functions. 

Coffee  in  moderation  has  rather  a  tonic  than  an  enervating 
effect ;  but  in  excess,  it  is  distinctly  proven  by  repeated  in¬ 
stances  that  it  quite  prostrates  the  sexual  faculties.  Pro¬ 
fessor  Lallemand  relates  an  instance  of  a  young  man  of 
thirty,  who  was  appointed  professor  in  a  college.  In  order 
to  qualify  himself  for  his  post  he  studied  with  great  diligence, 
supporting  his  powers  on  eight  or  ten  cups  of  coffee  daily. 
After  a  few  weeks  he  was  seized  with  an  irritable  condition 
of  the  bladder,  and  not  long  afterwards  with  entire  impotence. 
Lallemand,  to  whom  he  applied,  at  once  stopped  the  coffee, 
to  which  he  attributed  the  wrhole  trouble,  and  under  appro¬ 
priate  treatment  the  patient  recovered.  Dr.  Albert  Muller 
in  a  recently  published  work  mentions  that  in  his  own  expe¬ 
rience  he  has  witnessed  several  most  striking  instances  of  a 
similar  character,  and  lays  down  the  following  rule  as  the 
result  of  his  studies  on  this  point :  “  Through  a  moderate  use 
of  coffee,  virility  can  be  strengthened ;  but  through  a  long 
and  excessive  use  of  it,  virility  may  become  diminished,  and 
indeed  wholly  destroyed.”  This  we  can  accept  as  a  correct 
statement  of  the  most  recent  views  of  physiologists.  Dr. 
McDougall,  of  London,  says  that  several  of  his  patients  af¬ 
flicted  with  spermatorrhoea  and  generative  debility,  dis¬ 
covered  that  tea  and  coffee  always  proved  hurtful  to  them. 

It  may  surprise  some  to  have  us  class  tobacco  among  the> 


WHAT  TOBACCO  DOSS. 


51 


foods* ,  but  we  do  it  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  opinions 
of  scientific  men  that  it  acts  as  a  supplemental  or  accessory 
food,  hindering  destruction  though  not  assisting  in  repara¬ 
tion. 

\ 

Its  effects  on  the  system  have  been  much  mooted  ever  since 
it  came  into  general  use  in  civilized  countries,  and  they  are 
not  yet  very  clearly  made  out.  But  we  do  know  that  on  the 
whole  and  in  most  cases  they  are  injurious,  leading  surely 
sooner  or  later  to  chronic  nervous  and  digestive  disorders. 
Physicians  who  nave  had  the  opportunity  of  watching  opera¬ 
tives  in  tobacco-raetories,  have  reported  that  the  males  fre¬ 
quently  suffer  from  sexual  debility,  and  Lallemand,  whom  we 
have  already  quoted,  relates  examples  where  serious  disorders 
and  loss  of  functional  vigor  were  consequent  on  its  too  free  use. 
We  might  naturally  expect  this  to  be  the  case,  for  the  herb 
is  a  powerful  narcotic,  and  no  narcotic  can  be  indulged  for  a 
length  of  time  without  depressing  the  system.  The  medical 
attendants  of  public  schools  have  observed  that  in  youth  the 
use  of  tobacco  predisposes  to  frequent  nocturnal  emissions, 
produced  doubtless  rather  by  relaxation  than  excitement, 
and  there  is  no  question  but  that  the  same  effect  is  apparent 
though  in  a  less  degree  in  the  adult.  Sound  hygiene,  there¬ 
fore,  banishes  tobacco  from  the  pleasures  permitted  those 
who  would  retain  their  virility,  or  confines  them  to  an  indul¬ 
gence  in  it  even  short  of  moderation. 

Drugs  which  Stimulate  Desire. 

There  are  certain  substances  which  act  locally  on  the 
membranes  and  organs  associated  in  the  performance  of 
the  masculine  function,  leading  to  irritation  of  the  nerves  of 
the  part,  to  an  unnatural  excitement,  and  consequently  to 
premature  exhaustion.  Sometimes  these  are  employed  for 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 


52 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


some  disorder  through  ignorance,  and  sometimes  they  are 
sought  by  those  who  would  give  a  fictitious  appearance  of 
strength  to  their  animal  powers,  and  seek  by  artificial  irri¬ 
tants  to  restore  to  the  nerves  a  sensitiveness  which  they  no 
longer  possess.  This  is  a  most  dangerous  and  reprehensible 
habit,  and  one  which  from  ancient  times  has  been  condemned 
by  physicians  and  lawgivers.  Yet  it  is  astonishing  that 
even  at  this  day  we  see  love-powders  and  philters  advertised 
in  the  newspapers.  In  nine  out  of  ten  cases  these  are  wholly 
inert,  and  in  the  tenth  case  they  are  dangerous,  certain  to 
lead  to  some  painful,  and  perchance  fatal  malady.  In¬ 
stances  of  rapid  death  from  their  poisonous  action  are  abund¬ 
ant.  Phosphorus  and  cantharides,  of  which  they  usually 
consist,  are  both  perilous  drugs  to  tamper  with,  and  dis¬ 
pensed  by  ignorant  hands  are  certain  to  result  disastrously. 
The  death  of  the  Latin  poet  Lucretius,  which  has  been  made 
the  subject  of  a  masterly  poem  by  Tennyson,  of  Lucullus, 
the  famous  Roman  epicure,  and  of  many  others,  are  currently 
attributed  to  this  cause.  By  the  Roman  laws  the  manu¬ 
facture  and  sale  of  these  dangerous  medicaments  were  pro¬ 
hibited  under  pain  of  death,  but  in  spite  of  stringent  en¬ 
actments,  their  use  was  uninterrupted.  In  this  country, 
the  majority  of  dealers,  aware  of  the  serious  results  which 
may  follow  the  administration  of  any  active  drug,  content 
themselves  with  dispensing  perfectly  innocuous  powders. 
One  of  these  informed  us  that  he  sold  two  barrels  of  pulver¬ 
ized  caraway  seed  under  the  name  of  love-powders.  This 
fact  illustrates  the  incredible  demand  for  such  philters  even 
in  an  enlightened,  and,  on  the  whole,  moral  nation. 

The  pastilles  de  serail  and  other  preparations  brought  to 
us  from  Paris,  that  “lupanar  of  Europe,”  as  it  has  been 
severely  and  truly  called,  under  whatever  high-sounding  and 
Attract!  ve  names  they  may  be  sold,  are  equally  objectionable. 


DANGER  OP  ERGOT. 


53 


We  have  before  us  the  trade-receipts  for  a  number  of  these 
preparations,  and  in  every  instance  where  they  are  any¬ 
thing  more  than  mere  highly  spiced  confectionery,  they  con¬ 
tain  ingredients  which  cannot  be  used  without  incurring 
liability  to  serious  and  perhaps  mental  diseases.  We  em¬ 
phatically  warn  against  their  use,  as  we  do  against  every 
unnatural  excitant  of  the  genital  functions. 

The  prolonged  use  of  astringents  and  purgatives ,  to 
which  many  persons  accustom  themselves  on  account  of 
some  disorder  of  the  stomach,  or  to  remedy  some  skin  affec¬ 
tions,  is  quite  apt  to  incite  local  irritation,  and  induce  weak¬ 
ness  of  the  sexual  life.  These  agents,  indeed,  are  placed  by 
Dr.  Albert  Muller  in  the  first  rank  of  those  capable  of  pro¬ 
ducing  debilitating  nocturnal  losses.  Their  employment, 
therefore,  especially  in  schools,  and  in  nervous  temperaments, 
which  quickly  respond  to  impressions,  should  be  very  limited, 
or  left  altogether  to  the  medical  attendant. 

In  some  portions  of  Europe  where  rye  bread  is  the  staple 
food  of  the  lower  classes,  no  care  is  taken  to  sort  out  the 
grains  of  “  spurred  rye,”  or  ergot,  a  substance  which  has  a 
specific  effect  on  the  reproductive  organs  of  both  sexes. 
The  consequence  of  this  is  seen  very  plainly  in  the  popula¬ 
tion.  Dr.  Deslandes,  in  speaking  of  the  natives  of  the  valley 
of  the  Gironde,  says  :  “  They  present  a  striking  example  how 
violent  passions  can  be  associated  with  weakened  frames. 
Their  food  is  scanty  and  lacking  in  nourishing  properties, 
largely  composed  of  rye  meal  from  which  the  diseased  grains 
have  not  been  separated ;  their  faces  are  disfigured,  pinched, 
and  pale,  and  their  leanness  almost  shocking.  They  present 
an  appearance  of  complete  physical  degradation,  and  yet* 
their  passions  are  precocious,  and  they  yield  to  them  with  a 
real  frenzy.”  These  wretched  people  are  also  cursed  with 
frequent  abortions,  the  women  with  womb  disease,  and  botn 


54 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


sexes  with,  a  variety  of  mortification  of  the  extremities,  which 
is  known  from  its  cause  “  ergotic  gangrene.”  Their  example 
proves  how  essential  it  is  to  health  and  even  to  morals  to 
have  what  in  many  districts  is  a  common  article  of  diet  pre¬ 
pared  with  care,  and  with  a  knowledge  of  sanitary  laws. 

The  freedom  with  which  in  some  families  fly  blisters  and 
spirits  of  turpentine  are  used  in  domestic  medicine  is  one  of 
the  objections  to  the  habit  of  attempting  to  doctor  one’s  self 
and  others  without  a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  drugs. 
Both  these  substances  have  a  specific  action  on  the  organs 
of  sex  and  the  bladder  and  kidneys.  The  first  mentioned, 
cantharides,  has  a  popular  reputation  as  an  excitant  of  the 
passions,  a  so-called  aphrodisiac.  It  is  not  so  in  any  true 
sense,  as  the  excitement  it  causes  is  not  associated  with  feel¬ 
ings  of  pleasure,  and  moreover,  its  use  is  certain  to  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  pain  and  inflammation,  and  there  are  not  a  few 
examples  where  speedy  death  in  great  agony  has  supervened. 

Drugs  which  Moderate  Desire. 

Rabelais’  hero,  Panurge,  in  the  passage  from  the  celebrated 
romance,  insists  on  Rondibilis  suggesting  some  other  means 
of  controlling  his  carnal  desires  than  the  use  of  wine.  This 
the  obliging  doctor  willingly  does,  rehearsing  a  long  list  of 
specifics,  such  as  the  agnus  castus,  the  “  cold  seeds,”  and 
“  hippopotamus  skin,”  as  of  sovereign  virtue  in  subduing 
passion.  Unfortunately  an  experience  of  a  few  generations 
has  not  supported  in  this  instance  the  erudite  doctor’s  words. 
There  are,  indeed,  many  cases  where  it  is  highly  desirable  to 
have  at  our  command  some  such  medicaments,  which  in  a 
sense  are  aids  and  allies  to  the  moral  nature,  if  not  strength¬ 
ening  good  resolutions  at  any  rate  weakening  «vil  impulses, 
which  is  next  best. 


CAMPHOR  AND  HOPS. 


55 


We  are  glad,  therefore,  that  when  the  articles  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  older  physicians  fell  into  disfavor,  modern 
observation  discovered  others  with  unquestionable  powers  in 
this  direction.  One  or  two  of  the  ancient  remedies  have  also 
stood  their  ground.  Among  them,  the  most  prominent  is 
camphor.  This  was  familiar  to  the  practitioners  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  in  a  famous  work  on  hygiene  written  about 
the  time  of  the  first  crusade  by  the  professors  of  the  school 
of  Salernum,  in  Italy,  and  known  as  the  Regimen  Sanitatis , 
The  Laws  of  Health,  there  occurs  the  following  line : — 

“  Camphora  per  nares,  castrat  odore  mares 
“  The  smell  of  camphor  makes  eunuchs  of  men.” 

The  most  recent  authority  on  this  use  of  camphor  is  Dr. 
Albert  Muller,  whose  work  was  published  in  1869.  He  sums 
up  the  evidence  by  concluding  that  very  small  doses,  half  a 
grain  to  a  grain,  in  most  instances  diminishes  the  sensibility 
of  the  organs  of  sex,  but  only  for  a  short  time,  and  not  in¬ 
variably.  In  some  cases,  which  cannot  be  distinguished 
beforehand,  even  such  small  amounts  produce  irritability  of 
the  bladder,  and  therefore  should  not  be  used.  On  the  whole, 
itjs  not  a  safe  drug  for  any  but  a  physician  to  administer. 

The  active  principle  of  hops,  called  lupulin,  and  the  pollen 
of  that  plant,  have  a  more  decided  effect  than  camphor,  and 
are  far  safer.  Beer  drinkers — that  is,  if  they  drink  beer  made 
by  the  addition  of  a  strong  infusion  of  hops  to  the  malt,  as 
is  the  case  with  good  English  bitter  beer — soon  experience  a 
sluggishness  of  feeling,  which  often  passes  into  indifference. 

Saltpetre,  or  nitrate  of  potash,  enjoys  a  similar  reputation, 
but  acts  injuriously  on  the  general  health  when  taken  in 
quantities,  and  for  this  reason  should  be  employed  with  hesi¬ 
tation,  if  at  all,  and  under  advice. 

There  are  several  other  drugs  with  the  same  properties,  but 


&6  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

as  they  can  only  be  used  with  discretion  by  those  who  have 
made  a  study  of  their  effects  upon  the  economy,  it  would 
neither  be  advantageous  nor  prudent  to  extend  the  list  much 
further.  We  shall  moreover  recur  to  the  topic  when  we 
come  to  treat  the  means  for  controlling  certain  diseased  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  function,  and  shall  leave  this  subject  by  stating 
that  in  our  own  practice  we  have  witnessed  decided  and 
satisfactory  results  from  the  administration  of  bromide  of 
potassium.  The  peculiar  and  sometimes  alarming  effects  of 
this  drug  on  the  mental  powers,  although  they  are  only  tem¬ 
porary,  yet  act  as  a  drawback  to  its  popularization.  It  is 
still  a  question  whether  permanent  weakening  of  the  memory 
may  not  be  a  sequel  of  its  excessive  or  too  long  continued 
use.  Like  all  substances  purely  medicinal  in  nature,  we 
advise  none  to  experiment  with  it,  but  to  take  it  under  the 
advice  of  a  physician. 

Our  National  Tendency  to  Premature  Loss  of  Virility. 

We  quoted,  a  few  pages  back,  the  words  of  a  French 
writer  on  old  age,  who  placed  the  commencement  of  the 
period  of  decadence  in  man  “  between  fifty  and  sixty.”  Tl\e 
gifted  Flourens,  in  his  work  on  human  longevity,  considers 
that  this  is  far  too  early,  did  man  only  husband  the  resources 
of  a  naturally  good  constitution.  English  writers  also  do 
not  speak  of  virile  weakness  in  healthy  men  under  fiftj7. 

If  it  is  true,  and  it  would  seem  from  a  number  of  opinions 
expressed  by  medical  authors  whom  we  have  consulted, 
that  the  age  of  commencing  decay  in  Europe  is  from  “fifty 
to  sixty,”  then  in  this  country  we  must,  as  a  nation,  be  suf¬ 
fering  some  degeneration  in  this  respect.  For  it  is  certain 
that  of  a  number  of  elderly  men  whom  we  have  consulted  on 
this  point,  the  majority  confessed  to  having  felt  a  decided 


NATIONAL  LOSS  OF  POWER. 


51 


decrease  both  in  desire  and  sexual  vigor  as  early  as  forty- 
five.  We  venture  the  prediction  that  three  out  of  four  of 
our  elderly  readers  will  agree  that  this  coincides  with  their 
own  experience. 

Now  it  is  a  serious  question  in  national  hygiene  why  this 
is  so?  The  statistics  of  all  our  oldest  settled  states  show 
that  fewer  children  are  born  in  marriages  between  native 
Americans,  than  in  foreign-born  or  mixed  couples.  It  looks 
as  if  one  solution  of  this  startling  fact  is  to  be  found  in  the 
diminished  activity  of  the  male.  We  ourselves  have  no 
doubt  of  it. 

The  naturalist  Buffon,  in  the  last  century,  maintained  that 
a  careful  comparison  of  the  animals  of  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds  had  convinced  him  that  those  in  the  latter  are,  on 
the  whole,  smaller,  feebler,  and  shorter  lived  than  those  in 
the  former.  President  Jefferson  took  some  pains,  and  we 
believe  successfully,  in  refuting  this  opinion ;  but  there  is 
really  little  doubt  but  that  American  born  males  are,  as  a 
class,  liable  to  premature  decay  of  the  generative  functions. 

Nor  are  the  causes  of  this. early  decrepitude  hard  to  find. 
They  are,  as  it  were,  at  the  ends  of  our  fingers.  And  we 
feel  in  duty  bound  to  speak  of  them  boldly. 

One  of  the  most  obvious  and  most  undeniable  is,  the  ex¬ 
cessive  use  of  tobacco.  This  acts  not  only  on  the  individual, 
but  on  his  sons.  “  In  no  instance,”  says  Dr.  Pidduck,  a  Lon¬ 
don  surgeon  of  extensive  observation,  “is  the  sin  of  the 
father  more  distinctly  visited  on  the  children  than  in 
tobacco-using.  It  produces  in  the  offspring  an  enervated 
and  unsound  constitution,  deformities,  and  often  early  death.” 
l)r.  II.  J.  McDougall  says :  “  Many  inveterate  smokers 
among  my  professional  friends  have  mentioned  to  me  the 
diminution  of  their  venereal  desires,  as  one  of  the  effects  of 
tobacco.” 


68 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Another  is,  the  abuse  of  alcoholic  bevei'ages.  Not  only 
do  these,  as  we  have  shown,  shorten  virility,  but  they  trans¬ 
mit  this  same  tendency  to  the  male  descendants.  Even 
when  no  intemperance  can  be  charged,  yet  the  peculiarly 
American  habit  of  taking  strong  liquors  on  an  empty  sto¬ 
mach  is  most  destructive  to  nervous  force,  and  most  certain 
to  prevent  healthy  children. 

The  hurried  meals  and  consequent  dyspepsia,  the  use  of 
coffee  several  times  a  day,  the  excessive  mental  strain  in 
American  business  life,  the  increased  pressure  and  redoubled 
anxieties  which  the  desperate  competition  of  our  great  marts 
invariably  brings  with  it,  and  imposes  especially  on  those 
who  have  families  to  provide  for,  all  bring  about  prema¬ 
ture  old  age,  and  create  a  tendency  to  early  debility  of  all 
the  nervous  functions,  and  with  them  that  of  reproduction, 
which  is  infallibly  handed  down  to  the  sons  along  with  the 
money,  houses,  and  land  which  a  life  of  labor  may  have 
accumulated. 

With  these  facts  staring  them  in  the  face,  it  is  for  our 
native  population  to  decide  whether  they  will  forego  some¬ 
what  this  desperate  struggle  for  wealth  and  this  self-indulg¬ 
ence,  and  thereby  have  to  bequeath  their  children  that  which 
no  money  can  purchase,  and  than  which  no  costlier  legacy 
can  be  left  a  young  man — a  sound  constitution. 

Relations  of  the  Sexual  to  the  other  Functions. 

In  all  that  we  have  said  before,  wre  aimed  to  keep  con¬ 
stantly  in  view  and  to 'impress  upon  the  reader  the  intimate 
association  which  exists  between  the  specific  functions  of 
sex,  and  the  rest  of  the  economy. 

How  close  this  is  in  the  female  sex  is  now  generally  acknow¬ 
ledged,  at  least  by  physicians.  But  even  they  are  apt  to 


REFORMS  NEEDED. 


59 


overlook  the  nearness  of  the  genetic  power  in  man  to  all 
his  other  faculties.  There  is  no  one  function  which,  if  dis¬ 
turbed,  leads  so  rapidly  and  certainly  to  general  ill-feeling. 
The  mind  is  sure  to  brood  over  it,  and  depressing  melancholy, 
unfitness  for  action,  and  hypochondria  will  result. 

Dyspeptic  and  nervous  diseases  without  number,  general 
debility,  and  many  forms  of  insanity  are  more  or  less  directly 
developed  from  some  disorder  of  the  reproductive  power 
Many  an  obscure  complaint,  which  has  led  the  sufferer  from 
doctor  to  doctor,  and  cost  him  quantities  of  time,  trouble, 
and  money,  without  any  benefit,  takes  its  origin  in  some  mis: 
management  here,  of  which,  perhaps,  in  his  ignorance  of 
thoughtlessness,  he  is  quite  unconcerned. 

Among  many  physicians,  an  unnecessary  fear  prevails  lest 
they  should  offend  by  suggesting  such  a  cause  of  disease,  or 
a  dread  lest  they  should  be  thought  unduly  inquisitive,  or  a 
doubt  fostered  by  some  few  prominent  and  prejudiced 
writers,  as  to  whether  bad  effects  really  do  come  from  an 
abuse  of  the  sexual  powers. 

We  can  but  repeat  that  every  medical  man  who  has  given 
close  study  to  the  subject  is  perfectly  convinced  that  there 
is  a  vast  body  of  anguish,  mental  and  bodily,  from  this  source. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to. — To  avoid  the  nuisance 
of  constant  references,  we  append  here  a  list  of  the  principal 
authorities  quoted  :  On  the  distinctions  of  sex,  Waldeyer,  Eierstoclc 
und  Ei,  p.  152;  Fonssagrives,  L’  Education  Physique  des  Jeunes 
Filles,  Chap.  I.  (Quetelet’s  statistics);  Van  Buren,  New  York 
Medical  Gazette ,  1869;  Bichat,  La  Vie  et  la  Mort ,  p.  3.  On 
puberty:  British  Medical  Journal ,  Aug.  1868;  William  Acton, 
Functions  and  Disorders  of  the  Kejiroductive  Organs,  passim ; 
Journal  of  Psychological  Medicine,  Nos.  I.  and  VI.  (aberrations 
of  sexual  passion);  Wiener  Medicinische  Wochenschrift,  Jan.  3869 
preview  of  Der  Urning).  On  Virility:  Journal  d' Anatomic  et 
6 


60 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Physiologie,  No.  VI.  (Prof.  Mantegazza’s  experiments  on  sperm); 
Hufeland,  Art  of  Prolonging  Life,  pp.  94,  104;  Flourens,  La 
Longevity  IJumaine ;  Reveille-Parise,  De  la  Vieillesse ;  Debay, 
Hygiene  et  Physiologie  de  la  Mariage ,  pp.  98,  445,  345  (formu- 
laire  aphrodisiaque) ,  Becquerel,  Traiti  d: Hygiene  privee  et  pnb- 
lique,  pp.  34,  54,  576;  Albert  Miiller,  Ueber  TJniviWcurliche 
Samenverluste,  passim  ;  Rabelais,  La  Vie  de  Gargantua ,  Liv.  III. 
Cap.  XXX.;  Dr.  Pidduck,  On  the  Use  of  Tobacco  ;  Dr.  McDougall. 
Notes  to  Lallemand ;  the  physiological  text-books  of  Carpenter, 
Imlton,  Marshall,  Flint,  eto.] 


PART  II. 


THE  CELIBATE  LIFE; 


With  the  male  rests  the  choice  whether  or  not  he  shall 
seek  to  contract  a  union  with  the  other  sex  for  the  purpose 
of  perpetuating  the  species.  This  is  a  wise,  and,  indeed,  a 
necessary  provision  of  nature;  for  man  not  only  is  more 
rapidly  exhausted  by  the  exercise  of  his  peculiar  functions, 
but  on  him  rests  the  responsibility  of  providing  for  the  family 
he  engenders.  He  should  form  no  such  union  lightly,  or 
before  he  has  maturely  weighed  the  arguments  for  and 
against  it.  It  is  our  purpose  to  assist  him  here  by  informing 
him  of  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of  both  condi¬ 
tions.  And  first,  of — 

The  Advantages  of  Celibacy. 

Were  this  world  all,  and  life  limited  by  the  existence  of 
the  body,  the  physiologist  could  recognize  no  duty  more  im¬ 
perative  than  that  to  the  species,  and  no  demand  more  im¬ 
portant  than  that  to  perpetuate  its  existence.  But  beyond 
this  frail  house  of  flesh  is  a  life  everlasting,  and  the  prepara¬ 
tions  to  fit  ourselves  worthily  to  enjoy  it  rank  beyond  any 
others.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  Master  whose  example  is 

(  61  ) 


62 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


set  before  us  for  constant  imitation,  while  ever  referring  to 
marriage  as  a  holy  and  an  honorable  rite,  himself  remained 
unmarried.  And  the  most  gifted  of  the  apostles,  when  ques¬ 
tioned  closely  on  this  point  by  the  Corinthian  converts,  wrote 
to  them  this  advice : — 

“As  to  the  question  which  you  have  asked  me  in  your 
letter,  this  is  my  answer  :  It  is  good  for  a  man  to  remain 
unmarried.  *  *  *  In  speaking  thus,  I  do  not  mean  to 

command  marriage,  but  only  to  permit  it.  For  I  would  that 
all  men  were  as  I  am.  *  *  *  To  the  unmarried  I  say 

that  it  would  be  good  for  them  to  remain  in  the  state  in 
which  I  also  am.”  (1  Corinthians,  Conybeare  and  Howson’s 
translation.) 

It  is  undeniable  from  this  passage  that  St.  Paul  believed 
tnat  a  more  devoted  life— though  not  necessarily  a  purer 
one — could  be  led  by  a  celibate.  There  is  no  doubt  of  it. 
The  calls  of  family  affairs,  the  necessity  of  providing  for  wife 
and  children,  the  time  expended  in  the  family  circle,  are  all 
so  many  distractions  which  the  celibate  escapes.  Not  a  few 
of  the  men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  science  and 
art  preferred  for  this  reason  to  renounce  marriage.  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  Kant  the  metaphysician,  Alexander  von 
Humboldt  the  greatest  of  modern  physicists,  the  statesman 
Pitt,  the  sculptor  Gibson,  the  philologist  Jacob  Grimm,  and 
many  others  whose  names  are  as  familiar  as  these,  owe  their 
celebrity  in  a  measure  to  the  devotion  a  single  life  allowed 
them  to  apply  to  their  favorite  pursuits. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  exacts  celi¬ 
bacy  of  her  priests,  holding  that  thereby  not  only  do  they 
learn  self-control,  but  that  they  can  be  more  free  to  give 
themselves  exclusively  to  the  welfare  of  those  under  their 
spiritual  charge.  Lord  Bacon  urges  the  same  view,  saying : 


WHY  NOT  TO  MARRY. 


63 


*  Certainly  the  best  works  and  of  the  greatest  merit  for  the 
public  have  proceeded  from  unmarried  or  childless  men.” 

Such  lofty  motives  as  these,  however,  have  little  weight 
with  most  men,  so  we  hasten  to  proceed  to  one  that  has,  that 
is — economy.  It  is  cheaper  to  live  unmarried.  The  spiritual 
Michelet  in  his  work  on  woman  queries,  or  rather  flatly 
denies  this.  But  let  him  pass  for  an  eccentric  Frenchman. 
An  American  figures  too  closely  to  be  persuaded  that  it 
costs  less  to  keep  two  than  one.  Whether  the  economy  is 
not  misplaced  is  an  inquiry  about  which  we  shall  have  some¬ 
thing  to  say  hereafter. 

Certain  it  is  that  this  motive  of  economy  is  the  chief  one 
for  most  men  deferring  or  renouncing  marriage.  It  is  par¬ 
ticularly  observable  in  large  cities,  where  competition  in 
business  and  expensive  establishments  go  hand  in  hand.  As 
celibacy  for  this  cause  is  rarely  continence,  histdry  shows  it 
associated  with  a  low  grade  of  morals.  Marriage  had  al¬ 
most  disappeared  from  ancient  Rome  before  its  fall,  and  to 
this  fact  a  modern  historical  writer  attributes  its  overthrow, 
so  few  native  citizens  being  left  to  fight  its  battles.  Paris 
and  New  York  city  both  exhibit  in  their  population  a 
larger  proportion  of  unmarried  men  than  other  cities  in 
their  respective  countries,  and  also  a  more  depraved  state 
of  society. 

In  ancient  Sparta,  and  in  some  other  states,  laws  have 
been  enacted  prohibiting  celibacy,  and  several  of  the  United 
States  increase  the  taxes  on  single  men  after  a  certain  age. 
It  is  presumed  that  if  they  escape  so  many  burdens  to  which 
their  married  associates  are  condemned,  they  should  at  least 
pay  more  to  support  the  institutions  which  protect  all. 

Love  of  liberty  is  often  urged  as  a  large  item  in  the  cre¬ 
dit  account  of  the  celibate  condition.  A  man  can  travel ; 
he  can  stay  at  home  or  go  out ;  he  can  smoke  when  he 


64 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


pleases  an  live  where  he  pleases ;  he  asks  no  one’s  permis- 
sion,  and  is  obliged  to  consult  no  one’s  convenience  but  his 
own.  If  not  monarch  of  all  he  surveys,  he  is  at  least  auto¬ 
crat  in  his  own  house,  and  lord  of  his  own  chamber.  The 
yoke  of  matrimony,  vinculum  matrimonii ,  as  the  Roman 
law  aptly  called  it,  does  not  gall  his  neck. 

All  this  is  true,  but  is  he  any  the  better,  even  any  the 
happier  for  it  ?  Does  liberty  in  this  plea  not  mean  license  ? 
But  these  are  queries  he  must  settle  for  himself.  We  cheer¬ 
fully  grant  that  his  points  are  well  taken  as  questions  of 
fact.  It  is  an  old  saying  that  he  who  takes  a  wife  makes  a 
sacrifice,  and  he  who  begets  children  gives  hostages  to  For¬ 
tune.  For  all  this,  however,  nature  provides  recompenses. 

Proper  Reasons  for  Celibacy. 

We  believe  no  modern  civilized  state  has  revived  the 
ancient  law  prohibiting  bachelorhood.  It  has  been  left,  and 
wiselv,  to  the  discretion  of  the  individual  himself.  For 

«r  ' 

there  are  very  good  reasons  why  some  men  should  avoid  the 
nuptial  tie.  As  a  law,  both  moral  and  physical,  the  first 
indeed  which  man  ever  received,  and  which  his  inner  prompt, 
ings  still  enforce  with  singular  vehemence,  crescite  et  multi - 
plicamini,  “  increase  and  multiply,”  is  universally  binding. 
But  exceptional  cases  arise  in  which  it  may  well  be  relaxed. 
We  have  referred  to  some  such  on  the  highest  of  all  authori¬ 
ties,  the  words  of  Scripture. 

Then,  too,  there  is  sometimes  a  duty  to  support  parents, 
and  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  which  justly  excuses  a 
man  from  contracting  any  new  responsibilities.  Some  few 
men  are  so  constituted  that  they  never  experience  any  real 
deep  affection  for  the  other  sex.  Such  do  wisely  to  refrain 
altogether.  An  instance  was  the  philosopher  Emanuel 


REASONS  FOR  BACHELORHOOD. 


65 


Kant ;  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  dislike  female  society,  and 
avoided  it  altogether.  The  essayist  Montaigne,  though 
married,  avers  that  he  never  felt  any  wish  to  assume  those 
bonds. 

A  far  more  serious  question  is  that  which  arises  in  con¬ 
nection  with  hereditary  diseases,  or  those  constitutional 
complaints  contracted  during  life,  which  taint  the  blood, 
and  are  transmissible  to  offspring.  These  inquiries  we 
shall  defer  to  a  later  page,  premising  that  under  some  cir¬ 
cumstances,  not  only  do  they  permit,  but  most  forcibly  en¬ 
join  at  least  temporary  celibacy. 

Physical  incapacity  has  always  been  allowed  to  be  a  just 
cause  for  abstaining,  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  States  of  our 
Union  we  believe  the  divorce  laws  sanction  an  immediate 
divorce  when  such  incapacity  is  established,  and  is  proven 
to  have  been  in  existence  at  the  time  of  marriage. 

Disappointed  affection,  whether  in  consequence  of  the 
proverbial  inconstancy  of  Woman,  or  by  some  casualty  of 
nature,  has  ever  been  extolled  by  persons  of  sentiment  and 
poetical  minds  as  a  praiseworthy  argument  for  renouncing  all 
future  alliances.  Thus  the  modern  poet  of  the  passions  sings 
in  Lockley  Hall 

“  Am  I  mad  that  I  should  cherish  that  which  bears  but  bitter 
fruit  ? 

I  will  pluck  it  from  my  bosom  though  my  heart  be  at  its  root. 

Never ,  though  my  mortal  summers  to  such  length  of  years  shall 
come, 

As  the  many  wintered  crow  that  leads  the  clanging  rookery 
home.” 

A_nd,  from  a  different  motive,  in  the  sweet  ballad  of  Edward 
Gray : — 


66 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


“  Love  may  come  and  love  may  go, 

And  fly  like  a  bird  from  tree  to  tree  ; 

But  I  will  love  no  more,  no  more, 

Till  Ellen  Adair  come  back  to  me. 

Bitterly  wept  I  over  the  stone  : 

Bitterly  weeping  I  turned  away  : 

There  lies  the  body  of  Ellen  Adair  ! 

And  there  the  heart  of  Edward  Gray  !” 

It  is  a  touching  constancy  which  thus  cherishes  the  remi¬ 
niscence  of  departed  attachment,  and  maintains  the  image 
of  one  love  inviolate  in  the  heart.  The  history  of  many 
men  of  deep  sentiment  who  have  never  married  is  probably 
this.  Washington  Irving  is  said  to  have  ever  been  faithful 
to  the  memory  of  a  lady  to  whom  he  was  engaged  when 
young,  and  who  was  suddenly  snatched  from  his  side  by 
death. 

The  devotion  to  some  high  purpose,  whether  it  be  con¬ 
nected  with  the  love  of  neighbor,  the  love  of  God,  or  the 
pursuit  of  science,  is  the  highest  reason  for  renouncing  the 
pleasures  and  escaping  the  annoyances  of  family  life.  Ex¬ 
amples  of  this  kind  compel  our  admiration,  and  usually  the 
self-inflicted  deprivation  ennobles  the  character,  as  cheerful 
renunciation  is  ever  sure  to  do.  A  devoted  and  eminent 
clergyman,  remarkable  for  the  geniality  of  his  disposition, 
once  replied  to  a  friend  of  ours,  who  bantered  him  on  his 
celibacy,  that  he  was  already  married,  that  his  bride  was 
the  church.  He  who  can  thus  feel  all  his  yearnings  satisfied 
by  the  duties-of  his  calling  does  well  to  abide  content  there¬ 
with.  But  let  no  one  entertain  for  a  moment  the  inexcus¬ 
able  doctrine  that  there  is  any  other  code  of  morals  for 
genius,  or  for  unusual  ability,  than  that  laid  down  in  the 
Bible.  There  have  not  been  wanting  specious  writers,  who, 
on  this  plea,  justify,  or  at  least  palliate,  the  immoralities  of 


ON  CHASTE  CELIBACY. 


67 


such  men  as  Goethe,  Byron,  and  Rousseau.  When  celibacy 
means  anything  but  chastity,  no  matter  in  whom,  or  what 
the  reason  it  is  assumed,  then  it  is  a  violation  of  physical 
and  moral  law,  than  which  not  one  is  more  blameworthy  or 
fraught  with  heavier  penalties. 

Disadvantages  of  Celibacy. 

Let  us  at  this  point  draw  a  distinction,  and  a  wide  one. 
Under  the  term  celibates  we  include  all  males  past  the  age 
of  puberty  who  are  not  married;  but  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  this  celibacy  means  continence,  and  still  less  chastity. 
The  man  is  continent  who  commits  neither  fornication,  nor 
adultery,  nor  secret  vice ;  but  for  all  that,  his  mind  may  be 
“  foul  as  hell  within,”  and  he  may  nourish  his  fancy  on  vile 
imaginings.  Such  a  one  is  not  chaste.  Only  he,  pure  in 
thought  and  in  life,  who  withstands  and  overcomes  the 
promptings  of  his  carnal  nature,  deserves  this  noble  epithet ; 
he  it  is  who  dwells  in  the  condition  of  chaste  celibacy,;  and 
we  say  it  at  once,  physically  speaking,  he  alone  escapes  the 
disadvantages  of  celibacy,  and  he  escapes  them  completely. 
We  emphatically  condemn,  as  a  most  pernicious  doctrine, 
one  calculated  to  work  untold  evil,  and  to  foster  the  worst 
forms  of  vice,  the  theory  that  any  injury  whatever  rises  from 
a  chaste  celibacy.  The  organs  are  not  weakened,  nor  their 
power  lost,  nor  is  there  a  tendency  to  spermatorrhoea,  nor  to 
congestions,  nor  to  any  one  of  those  ills  which  certain  vicious 
writers,  and  certain  superficial  and  careless  physicians  have 
attributed  to  this  state.  No  condition  of  life  is  more  tho¬ 
roughly  consistent  with  perfect  mental  and  physical  vigor 
than  absolute  chastity.  Those  only  suffer  any  ill  results 
from  celibacy  who  are  impure  in  thought  or  act,  and  for 


(58 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


them,  it  is  true,  nature  has  devised  bitter  tortures,  and  n> 
diets  them  with  pitiless  severity. 

Looking  first  at  general  results,  we  put  the  question : 
Who  live  longer,  the  married  or  the  celibate  ?  The  answer 
is  the  same,  seek  it  in  the  statistics  of  what  country  you  will. 
In  France,  in  England,  in  Scotland,  in  the  United  States, 
there  are,  in  proportion  to  their  respective  number,  more 
than  twice  as  many  married  men  still  living  at  the  age  of 
seventy,  as  single  (more  exactly  26.9  married  to  11.7  unmar¬ 
ried,  Becquerel).  This  is  alarming  odds  against  the  bache¬ 
lors.  Well  might  the  registrar  of  Scotland  say  that  it 
almost  means,  “  Marry  or  die.” 

To  what  are  we  to  attribute  this  difference  ? 

The  causes  are  not  hard  to  assign.  The  married  man 
leads  a  more  regular  life,  his  indulgences  are  more  tempe¬ 
rate,  rarely  excessive,  his  meals  are  better  served,  his  wife 
nurses  him  when  he  is  ill,  and  surrounds  him  with  a  thou¬ 
sand  tender  solicitudes  and  precautions  when  he  is  well. 
His  mind  is  employed  on  his  avocation,  or  on  pleasant 
thoughts  and  cares  for  his  home  circle.  He  has  no  unsatis¬ 
fied  yearnings,  and  he  is  not  allowed  vacant  hours  to  sit  in 
moody  brooding  over  his  future  or  his  present  ills.  The 
sight  and  conversation  of  his  children  renew  his  own  youth, 
and  the  relaxation  he  finds  in  joining  their  joyous  sports  in¬ 
stils  into  his  frame  something  of  the  spirit  and  vigor  of  the 
boy. 

How  different  the  life  of  the  celibate!  Engrossed  in  elabo¬ 
rate  and  selfish  cares  for  his  health,  he  destroys  the  precau¬ 
tions  of  months  by  the  excess  of  a  night.  Given  to  secret 
sins,  he  is  exposed  to  destructive  diseases;  or  else,  not 
satisfying  his  propensities  legitimately,  nor  yet  controlling 
them,  he  plunges  into  reckless  dissipation  and  license. 
Which  class  furnishes  the  most  insane?  The  celibates.  In 


DANGER  OF  IMPURITY. 


69 


which  is  death  from  delirium  tremens  more  frequent  ?  In 
the  celibates.  Who  more  frequently  are  suicides?  Again 
the  celibates.  These  are  all  statistical  truths,  and  they  tell 
their  own  story. 

Looking  at  these  parallel  streams  in  which  flow  the  lives 
of  men.  we  may  apply  to  them  the  words  of  Alfred  de  Mus' 
set’s  pretty  poem : — 

u  II  est  deux  routes  dans  la  vie  : 

L’une  paisible  et  fleurie, 

Qui  descend  sa  pente  cherie 
Sans  se  plaindre  et  sans  soupirer. 

L’autre,  comme  un  torrent  sans  digue, 

Dans  une  eternelle  fatigue, 

Sous  les  pieds  de  l’enfant  prodigue, 

Koule  la  pierre  d’lxion.” 

Whenever  through  an  excitable  temperament,  a  lack  of 
self-government,  or  long  habit,  a  man  feels  it  impossible  for 
him  to  live  a  virtuous  life,  he  exposes  himself,  if  he  still 
shuns  marr'sge,  to  serious  mental  and  physical  disease. 
Worse  than  this,  he  doubly  condemns  himself  in  the  eyes 
of  the  moralist,  for  he  drags  others  from  the  path  of  virtue 
to  share  and  to  minister  to  his  own  debasement.  “The 
annals  of  eternity  alone,”  forcibly  remarks  the  Rev.  John 
Todd,  in  hi*  Hints  Addressed  to  the  Young  Men  of  the 
United  States,  “  can  tell  the  amount  of  the  guilt  of  the  sin 
of  impurity.”  And,  as  a  physician,  we  may  add  those  annals 
alone  can  reveal  the  destruction  of  health  and  life,  the  misuse 
of  talents,  and  the  wide-spread  physical  evils  which  follow  in 
the  same  train.  We  shall  proceed  to  show  in  detail  what 
these  are ;  but  we  cannot  too  often  repeat  that  they  are  not 
the  consequences  of  celibacy  in  itself,  but  of  unchaste  celi¬ 
bacy.  The  pure  in  heart,  like  Builyan’s  pilgrim,  passes 


to  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

these  roaring  lions  and  these  ravenous  fires  unscathed,  and 
the  voluptuary  alone  falls  their  victim. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  disadvantages  attend  chiefly 
upon  those  bachelors  who  lead  immoral  lives.  W e  need  not 
conceal  from  ourselves  that  the  vast  majority  of  them  do  so. 
We  are  perfectly  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  the  vices  of 
single  men  support  the  most  flagrant  evils  of  modern  society. 
Hence  the  sociologist  finds  very  strong  reasons  to  urge  the 
policy  of  all  men  marrying,  and  also  of  marrying  as  soon  as 
they  attain  the  age  of  virility.  Regarding  the  question  as  a 
national  one,  it  were  to  be  hoped  that  such  a  regulation  could 
be  put  in  practice. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to  on  Celibacy. — Ed.  Reich, 
Geschichte  des  ehehchen  Lebens ,  pp.  509,  510  ;  Casper,  Med.  Sta- 
tistik,  Bd.  II.;  Becquerel,  TraitZ  d' Hysriene  prw'e,  p.  572;  W. 
Acton,  On  the  Reproductive  Organs ,  p.  73,  et  al.  ;  Rejtorts  of  the 
Registrar-General ,  Rev.  John  Todd,  Hints  to  the  Young  Men  of 
the  United  States .] 


THE  SOLITARY  VICE. 


"We  have  just  spoken  of  the  peculiar  dangers  to  which  tho 
unmarried  condition  is  exposed.  Our  purpose  now  is  to  take 
these  up  in  detail,  and  suggest  what  we  can  toward  their 
prevention  and  cure. 

The  first  we  shall  speak  of  is  one  which  is  much  more 
frequent  before  the  age  of  virility,  and  even  before  puberty 
than  later  in  life ;  we  mean  self-abuse.  It  is  the  danger  to 
which,  of  the  various  abuses  of  the  masculine  function,  boys 
are  peculiarly  liable.  But  it  is  not  confined  to  them.  We 
had  a  patient  at  one  time  under  our  charge  in  a  public  in¬ 
stitution,  who,  although  sixty  years  of  age,  was  a  slave  to 
this  detestable  practice ;  and  instances  of  men  over  thirty 
who  carry  it  on  in  spite  of  warning,  are  not  very  rare. 

There  is  hardly  any  part  of  our  subject  which  is  more 
difficult  to  treat  than  this,  and  yet  there  is  none  which  de¬ 
mands  more  urgently  plain  speaking,  and  emphatic  language. 
There  have  been,  unfortunately,  many  wretched  books  put 
forth  upon  this  topic  filled  with  overdrawn  pictures  of  its 
result,  and  written  merely  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the 
unwary  into  the  nets  of  unscrupulous  charlatans.  There  is 
also  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion  among  skilful  physicians 
themselves  as  to  its  consequences.  Some  treat  the  whole 
matter  lightly,  saying,  that  a  large  proportion  of  boys  and 
young  men  abuse  themselves  thus  without  serious  or  lasting 
{  71  ) 


72 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


injury,  and  hold,  therefore,  that  any  special  warning  is  un¬ 
called  for.  On  the  other  hand,  the  large  majority  of  prac. 
titioners  are  convinced  that  not  only  occasionally,  but  fre¬ 
quently,  the  results  are  disastrous  in  the  extreme.  “  I  could 
speak,”  says  that  excellent  authority,  Mr.  Acton,  “  of  the 
many  wrecks  of  high  intellectual  attainments,  and  the  foul 
blot  which  has  been  made  on  the  virgin  page  of  youth,  of 
shocks  from  which  the  youth’s  system  will  never,  in  my 
opinion,  be  able  to  rally,  of  maladies  engendered  which  no 
after  course  of  treatment  can  altogether  cure,  as  the  conse- 
quences  of  this  habit.” 

“  I  would  not  exaggerate  this  matter,”  says  Dr.  Horatio 
R.  Storer,  of  Boston,  “  or  imply  that  those  who  have  occa¬ 
sionally  gone  astray  are  necessarily  incurably  diseased,  or 
their  souls  irretrievably  lost.  But  I  do  consider  that  the 
effect  upon  the  constitution  is  detrimental  in  the  extreme.” 
Elsewhere  he  says  :  “  Enfeebling  to  the  body,  enfeebling  to 
the  mind,  the  incarnation  of  selfishness,  hardly  the  person 
exists  who  does  not  know  from  experience  or  from  observa¬ 
tion,  its  blighting  effects.” 

In  like  manner  the  late  Professor  John  Ware,  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  says  in  a  little  work  intended  for  popular  instruc¬ 
tion  :  “  The  deleterious,  the  sometimes  appalling  consequences 
of  this  vice  upon  the  health,  the  constitution,  the  mind  itself, 
are  some  of  the  common  matters  of  medical  observation. 
The  victims  of  it  should  know  what  these  consequences  are  ; 
for  to  be  acquainted  with  the  tremendous  evils  it  entails  may 
assist  them  in  the  work  of  resistance.”  “  Nothing  is  more 
certain,”  writes  Dr.  Maudsley,  “  than  that  continued  self¬ 
abuse  will  produce  an  enervation  of  nervous  element,  which, 
if  the  exhausting  vice  be  continued,  passes  into  degeneration 
and  actual  destruction  thereof.” 

“  I  myself,”  says  the  Rev.  John  Todd  in  his  Student V 


A  SAD  SUBJECT. 


73 


Manual,  “  have  seen  many  young  men  drop  into  premature 
graves,  from  this  cause  alone.”  The  venerable  Dr.  Hufe- 
land,  iu  his  Art  of  Prolonging  Life,  says  :  “  I  consider  this 
one  of  the  most  certain  means  which  shorten  and  derange 
life,”  and  his  words  are  quoted  with  approval  by  Professor 
Lallemand,  of  France,  and  Erasmus  Wilson,  of  England. 
And  we  might  continue  the  list  of  our  quotations  almost  indefi¬ 
nitely,  and  all  of  them  would  be  found  to  speak  in  the  same 
train. 

These  are  the  recent  and  well-considered  views  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  profession  of  medicine.  They  are  borne  out  by  a 
number  of  facts  in  our  personal  knowledge.  And  sanctioned 
and  fortified  in  this  manner,  we  believe  it  a  duty  to  speak 
with  no  uncertain  sound,  and  we  believe  that  our  intentions 
cannot  be  misconstrued  in  so  doing. 

That  there  are  physicians  who  treat  lightly  this  censurable 
indulgence  is  nothing  surprising.  We  could  readily  quote 
equally  high  authority  who  see  no  great  dangers  in  the  use 
of  alcohol,  of  opium,  and  of  illicit  amours.  There  are  many, 
say  they,  who  yield  to  all  these  temptations,  and  yet  do  not 
obviously  suffer,  and  ultimately  reform.  Is  the  counsellor 
wise  who  therefore  pooh-poohs  their  perils  ?  Certainly  not ; 
and  for  our  part,  we  shall  not,  cannot,  follow  their  example. 

Its  Consequences. 

And  yet  it  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  give  in  this  place 
the  long  list  of  symptoms,  nor  to  describe  the  changes  in 
face,  expression,  and  form  which  such  self-excitation  brings 
about.  We  have  observed  that  studying  and  gloating  over 
the  appalling  catalogue  has  led  in  many  instances  to  pro¬ 
found  melancholy,  and  very  rarely  to  reform  ;  and  it  has  also 
led  to  suspicion  of  innocent  persons.  The  special  symptoms 


74 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE 


are  for  the  medical  man  to  understand,  and  woul(!  only  mis. 
lead  the  unprofessional  reader.  Sufficient  to  say  that  tha 
earliest  consequences  are  a  languor,  a  disinclination  to  phy, 
sical  and  mental  exertion,  which  are  soon  followed  by  an 
actual  incapacity  for  such  exertion — physical  debility  united 
with  mental  weakness.  Epileptic  and  apoplectic  attacks  may 
also  occur. 

An  offensive  and  characteristic  selfishness  develops  in 
the  character ;  the  thoughts  and  aspirations  seem  incapable 
of  noble  flights  and  philanthropic  instincts.  The  imagination 
runs  riot  in  images  of  debauchery,  and  the  conversation  and 
reading  choose  by  preference  ignoble  and  vulgar  channels. 
The  whole  moral  nature  is  debased  to  a  more  than  brutal 
degradation.  Woman  has  no  real  charms  for  the  miserable 
being  who  no  longer  controls  his  passions.  In  the  stern 
words  of  the  Rev.  John  Todd  :  “  In  this  life  a  heavier  curse 
can  hardly  hang  upon  a  young  man  than  that  of  possessing 
a  polluted  imagination.  The  leprosy  fills  the  whole  soul 
Time  only  increases  it,  and  even  the  power  o-f  the  gospel  can 
seldom  do  more  than  restrain  without  subduing  it.” 

But  the  most  fearful  effects  are  not  upon  the  body  but  the 
mind.  We  are  no  alarmists.  We  do  not  wish  to  conjure 
up  unfounded  terrors.  But  our  duty  would  not  be  done, 
and  we  would  violate  our  conscience  and  our  professional 
knowledge,  did  we  attempt  to  veil  or  to  palliate  the  hideous 
features  of  this  vice.  We  distinctly  warn  that  it  leads  to 
insanity ,  not  rarely,  but  frequently. 

There  is  no  higher  authority  on  mental  disease  than  Dr. 
Henry  Maudsley  of  England  ;  and  these  are  his  words  :  “  The 
habit  of  self-abuse  notably  gives  rise  to  a  particular  and 
disagreeable  form  of  insanity,  characterized  by  intense  self- 
feeling  and  conceit,  extreme  perversion  of  feeling,  and  corre¬ 
sponding  derangement  of  thought  in  the  earlier  stages ;  and 


A  CAUSE  OF  INSANITY. 


15 


later  by  failure  of  intelligence,  nocturnal  hallucinations,  and 
suicidal  and  homicidal  propensities.”  So  prominent  and 
important  does  this  learned  alienist  esteem  this  variety  of 
insanity  that  he  has  devoted  a  long  article  to  its  description 
in  the  Journal  of  Mental'  Science  (July,  1868).  Not  only 
is  it  insidious  and  frequent;  it  is  incurable,  or  nearly  so. 
“Once  the  habit  is  formed,”  he  says, “and  the  mind  has  posi¬ 
tively  suffered  from  it,  there  would  be  almost  as  much  hope 
of  the  Ethiopian  changing  his  skin  or  the  leopard  his  spots, 
as  of  the  victim  abandoning  the  vice.  The  sooner  he  sinks  to 
his  degraded  rest  the  better  for  himself  and  the  better  for 
the  world,  which  is  well  rid  of  him.” 

We  have  taken  the  pains  to  examine  with  care  the  latest 
reports  of  a  large  number  of  insane  asylums  in  the  United 
States,  to  ascertain  precisely  how  many  of  their  inmates  have 
been  driven  there  by  this  vice.  The  average  we  have  found 
to  be  nearly  nine  per  cent,  of  all  the  males  in  whom  the  causes 
were  assigned;  and  in  one  prominent  institution  in  Ohio, 
fourteen  per  cent. 

With  these  fearful  figures  before  us,  with  these  ominous 
words  of  distinguished  physicians,  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  it  is  through  ignorance  that  this  vice  is  commenced 
and  spread,  who  dares  to  say  that  teachers  and  parents 
should  hold  their  peace,  and  suffer  the  youth  of  this  land 
to  rush  unwarned  into  the  jaws  of  death? 

We  may  be  met  by  the  objection  that  it  is  quite  uncommon. 
Fathers  love  to  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  their  souls  that 
their  boy  is  above  such  a  mean  habit ;  principals  express 
their  pride  that  their  pupils  at  least  are  free  from  this  con¬ 
tamination. 

Is  it  common  in  the  public  and  private  schools  of  the 
United  States  ?  This  inquiry  has  occupied  our  serious 
attention,  and  as  the  surest  plan  of  obtaining  a  correct  reply, 

7 


76 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


we  have  asked  the  opinion  of  various  physicians  who  have 
had  the  professional  care  of  schools.  Their  general  senti¬ 
ment  is  that  while  there  are  very  few  institutions  for  boys 
in  which  the  vice  is  flagrant,  or  at  all  universal,  there  are 
fewer  in  which  it  is  unknown.  Generally  a  considerable  pei 
cent.,  perhaps  one-fifth  or  one-six  h  of  the  whole  number, 
are  given  to  it  to  an  extent  which  is  injuring  their  bodies  or 
minds.  The  medical  attendants  say  that  in  most  cases  they 
have  reason  to  believe  that  judiciously  and  early  informing 
the  boys  of  the  dangers  of  the  habit  succeeds  in  either  check¬ 
ing  it  altogether,  or  so  curbing  it  that  the  bad  results  are 
not  directly  obvious. 

In  estimating  its  frequency  we  must  remember  that  some 
boys  and  young  men  resist  their  feelings  during  their  waking 
hours,  but  unconsciously  violate  themselves  during  their 
sleep.  Such  cases  are  peculiarly  difficult  to  treat,  as  the 
sufferer  may  be  ignorant  of  his  habit,  and  often  some  obscure 
general  prostration  is  explicable  in  this  way. 

Its  Prevention. 

What  we  have  to  say  on  this  subject  we  address  to 
parents  and  educators.  For  on  them  devolves  the  serious 
responsibility  of  preventing  the  formation  of  this  habit, 
which,  when  once  firmly  fastened  on  its  victims,  is  as  diffi¬ 
cult  to  break  as  confirmed  intemperance  or  opium  eating. 
It  is  in  childhood,  and  in  early  boyhood,  that  in  ninety-nine 
cases  in  a  hundred  it  is  commenced. 

We  say  in  childhood ,  for,  as  we  have  said,  the  sexual 
passion  is  not  absent  even  from  the  immature  child.  It 
commences  almost  with  life  itself,  and  so  early  must  also 
the  watchfulness  of  the  parent  begin.  “  There  are,”  says 
Dr.  Maudsley,  “frequent  manifestations  of  the  instinct  of 


EARLY  SEX-PASSION. 


77 


propagation  in  early  life,  both  in  animals  and  children,  with¬ 
out  there  being  any  consciousness  of  the  aim  or  design  of 
the  blind  impulse.  Whoever  avers  otherwise  must  have 
paid  very  little  attention  to  the  gambols  of  young  animals, 
and  must  be  strangely  or  hypocritically  oblivious  to  the 
events  of  his  own  early  life.”  It  is  not  at  all  unfrequent  to 
find  patients  who  date  the  commencement  of  their  vicious 
indulgence  from  five,  six,  and  seven  years  of  age.  Dr.  Albert 
Muller  gives  the  history  of  one  who  abused  himself  from 
his  third  year  to  the  age  of  puberty,  when  he  was  destroyed 
by  the  fatal  consequences  of  his  action. 

But  it  is  more  frequent  about  the  age  of  puberty,  when 
the  passions  become  stronger,  and  local  irritations  of  various 
kinds  lead  the  thoughts  and  suggest  the  act.  In  childhood, 
degraded  companions  and  vicious  domestics  instruct  in  bad 
practices  ;  at  puberty  the  natural  passions  often  prompt, 
without  the  need  of  bad  examples.  In  both  cases  an  utter 
ignorance  of  danger  is  present,  and  this  is  the  first  point 
that  the  parent  and  teacher  must  make  up  their  minds  to 
face. 

They  must  determine,  as  they  expect  to  answer  for  the 
responsibilities  they  have  assumed,  not  to  blind  themselves 
with  the  idea  that  their  young  charges  are  too  innocent  and 
too  pure  for  such  thoughts  ;  they  must  not  deceive  themselves 
in  the  belief  that  sound  advice  here  is  either  dangerous  or 
needless ;  they  must  give  such  advice  earnestly,  solemnly, 
clearly.  “  I  have  noticed,”  says  Mr.  Acton,  “  that  all  patients 
who  have  confessed  to  me  that  they  have  practised  this  vice, 
lamented  that  they  were  not,  when  children,  made  aware  of 
its  consequences,  and  I  have  been  pressed  over  and  over  again 
to  urge  on  parents,  guardians,  schoolmasters,  and  others  in¬ 
terested  in  the  education  of  youth,  the  necessity  of  giving 
theii  charge  some  warning,  some  intimation  of  their  danger. 


?8  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

To  parents  and  guardians  I  offer  my  earnest  advice  that 
they  should  by  hearty  sympathy  and  frank  explanation,  aid 
their  charge  in  maintaining  a  pure  life.” 

Dr.  H.  R.  Storer  remarks  to  the  same  effect :  “  Children 
must  be  taught  purity.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  many 
of  them  an  improper  tone  of  thought  is  established  even 
before  the  period  of  puberty.  For  a  boy  to  reach  his  teens 
without  learning  from  his  associates  something  of  these  mat. 
ters  is  simply  impossible.” 

We  urge,  therefore,  parents  and  teachers  not  to  permit  a 
natural,  and  under  other  cricumstances  very  proper  delicacy, 
to  restrain  them  from  their  bounden  duty  to  warn  their 
charges  of  these  dangers.  If  wisely  done,  there  is  no  risk 
whatever  of  exciting  impure  thoughts ;  and  if  there  is  any 
risk,  it  is  infinitely  less  than  that  of  leaving  children  in 
ignorance. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  work  we  have  given  at  length  the 
hygienic  precautions  necessary  to  avoid  and  diminish  sexual 
precocity.  These  should  scrupulously  be  enforced,  and  will 
be  found  of  great  value.  To  none  of  them  do  we  attribute 
greater  importance  than  continued,  systematic,  gymnastic 
exercises.  Use  of  the  muscles  to  the  point  of  fatigue  every 
day  should  be  an  unalterable  regulation  in  schools.  Not 
only  is  the  general  health  promoted,  and  the  form  perfected, 
but  the  nervous  forces  are  thus  centred  on  providing  in¬ 
creased  nutrition  for  the  muscular  structure,  and  withdrawn 
from  the  parts  essential  to  propagation.  Next  to  this  is  the 
study  of  mathematics.  This  requires  such  mental  application 
and  fixity  of  thought,  that  the  passions  remain  almost  wholly 
at  rest. 

The  regimen  should  be  plain,  and  the  imagination  allowed 
to  remain  in  abeyance.  Sensational  love  stories,  and  even 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  SCHOOLS.  79 

such  warmly  colored  pictures  as  are  presented  in  the  Arabian 
nights,  and  the  amorous  poets  had  better  be  tabooed. 

The  growing  custom  of  allowing  very  young  people  of 
both  sexes  to  associate  at  parties,  balls,  dances,  and  similar 
amusements  cannot  be  approved  on  the  score  of  health.  It 
is  nearly  certain  to  favor  precocity. 

Whether  the  education  of  the  two  sexes  in  the  same  in¬ 
stitution  would  have  the  same  effect  we  do  not  know.  Those 
who  advocate  this  system  assert  that  it  is  extremely  favora¬ 
ble  to  the  maintenance  of  a  simple  and  natural  relation  be¬ 
tween  the  sexes,  and  consequently  to  the  repression  of  the 
vice  we  are  discussing.  The  experiment  is  being  tried  on  a 
large  scale  in  our  country,  so  we  may  expect  definite  know¬ 
ledge  ere  long.  Certain  it  is  that  one  of  the  peculiarities  of 
the  young  man  who  addicts  himself  to  secret  vice  is  a  de¬ 
sire  to  avoid  persons  of  his  own  age  of  the  opposite  sex. 
His  self-respect  is  impaired,  and  though  others  do  not  know 
it,  he  feels  conscious  of  it  himself,  and  shows  it  in  mixed 
society.  It  might,  therefore,  act  as  a  restraint  on  his  self¬ 
degradation  to  have  him  frequently  in  the  company  of  female 
scholars,  just  as  association  with  pure  and  refined  women  is 
one  of  the  best  safeguards  which  can  be  thrown  around  the 
adult  young  man. 


Its  Cure. 

Many  a  victim  with  flagging  body  and  enfeebled  will  is 
ready  to  cry  out :  Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
this  death?  Let  them  know  for  their  consolation  that  very 
many  men,  now  hale  and  happy,  have  met  and  conquered 
the  tempter ;  that  so  long  as  the  mind  itself  is  not  actually 
weakened,  there  is  good  hope  for  them ;  that  the  habit  once 
stopped  short  of  this  point,  the  system  recovers  from  its 


SO  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

prostration  with  surprising  rapidity ;  and  that  we  come  pro. 
vided  with  many  aids  to  strengthen  their  wavering  purpose. 

First,  and  most  essential,  is  the  advice  that  they  must 
resolutely  strive  for  'purity  of  mind.  All  exciting  litera¬ 
ture,  all  indecent  conversations,  all  lascivious  exhibitions 
must  be  totally  renounced.  Next,  all  stimulating  food  and 
drink,  and  especially  coffee  and  alcoholic  beverages,  must  be 
dropped.  The  mind  and  body  must  both  be  constantly  and 
arduously  employed,  the  diet  plain  and  limited,  the  sleep 
never  prolonged,  the  bed  hard,  the  room  well  ventilated,  the 
covering  light,  and  the  habits  as  much  broken  into  as  prac¬ 
ticable.  Generally  the  temptation  comes  at  some  particular 
hour,  or  under  some  especial  and  well-known  circumstances. 
At  such  times  extra  precautions  must  be  taken  to  occupy 
the  thoughts  with  serious  subjects,  and  to  destroy  the  old 
associations  and  opportunities.  The  instructions  we  have 
given  on  the  earlier  pages  of  this  book  for  subduing  the 
passions  should  be  read  and  followed  scrupulously. 

There  are  also  medical  means  which  can  be  employed  in 
some  cases  with  good  success,  such  as  the  administration  of 
substances  which  destroy  desire,  and  local  applications,  and 
even  surgical  operations  which  render  the  action  physically 
impossible,  but  these  means  we  do  not  propose  to  enter  into, 
as  they  can  only  be  properly  applied  by  the  educated  physi¬ 
cian,  and  do  not  form  part  of  a  work  on  hygiene. 

As  there  may  be  some  individuals,  however,  who  cannot 
overcome  the  shame  they  have  to  reveal  their  weakness,  and 
others  who  have  no  one  within  reach  whom  they  can  consult, 
we  shall  insert  a  few  formulas  which  have  the  advantage  of 
efficacy,  and  are  not  dangerous. 

When  it  is  believed  that  the  habit  is  carried  on  during 
sleep,  a  tablespoonful  of  the  following  potion  should  be 
taken  on  retiring  : — 


USEFUL  RECEIPTS. 


81 


Bromide  of  potash, 
Simple  syrup, 
Water, 


one  drachm ; 
one  ounce  ; 
one  ounce. 


This  is  intended  to  produce  sounder  sleep,  and  also  to 
diminish  desire.  The  same  effects  are  produced  by  the  ex¬ 
tractive  principle  of  hops,  which  may  be  taken  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  form : — 


half  an  ounce  ; 
one  ounce  and  a  half. 


Elixir  of  lupulin 
Camphor  water, 


One  tablespoonful  may  be  taken  at  bedtime. 

In  most  cases  considerable  debility  is  present,  and  they 
will  be  benefited  by  taking  after  'each  meal  a  teaspoonful 
of  the  following  simple  tonic  : — 

Tincture  of  chloride  of  iron,  two  drachms  ; 

Sulphate  of  quinine,  one  scruple  ; 

Syrup  of  ginger,  a  half  ounce  ; 

Water,  two  ounces. 

The  question  whether  marriage  should  be  advised  as  a 
cure  for  masturbation  is  one  which  we  are  often  asked.  We 
are  in  most  cases  inclined  to  reply,  no.  In  the  first  place, 
the  condition  of  matrimony  is  too  noble,  too  holy,  to  be 
debased  by  recommending  it  for  any  such  purpose.  Can  the 
wife  wooed  and  won  with  any  such  ignoble  object  in  view 
ever  hope  to  be  loved  as  a  woman  and  a  wife  should  be 
loved  ?  It  is  a  base  and  flagrant  outrage  on  society  for  the 
physician  to  give  such  recommendation.  W ould  he  yield  his 
own  daughter  to  any  man  who  sought  her  for  such  a  purpose  ? 
How  then  dare  he  counsel  it  ? 

Again,  we  believe  that  when  the  habit  is  not  deeply 
rooted,  an  earnest  endeavor,  backed  by  rigid  observance  of 
the  rules  we  have  laid  down,  will  enable  a  youth  to  conquer 
himself  and  his  unnatural  desires.  But  if  it  is  deeply  rooted  ? 


82 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


We  quote  for  our  reply  the  words  of  Dr.  Henry  Maudsley, 
who  gives  no  uncertain  counsel :  “  Certainly  marriage  need 
not  be  recommended  to  the  confirmed  masturbator  in  the 
hope  or  expectation  of  curing  him  of  his  vice.  He  will  most 
likely  continue  it  afterwards,  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  is  placed  will  aggravate  the  misery  and  the  mischief  of 
it.  For  natural  intercourse  he  has  little  power  or  no  de¬ 
sire,  and  finds  no  pleasure  in  it;  the  indulgence  of  a  depraved 
appetite  has  destroyed  the  natural  appetite.  Besides,  if  he 
be  not  entirely  impotent,  what  an  outlook  for  any  child  be* 
gotten  of  such  a  degenerate  stock  !  Has  a  being  so  degraded 
any  right  to  curse  a  child  with  the  inheritance  of  such  a 
wretched  descent  ?  Far  better  that  the  vice  and  its  conse¬ 
quences  should  die  with  him.” 

These  are  hard  words,  and  we  are  glad  to  believe  that  they 
are  harder  than  need  be.  We  have  certainly  known  some 
few  instances  where  after  abuse  for  many  years  and  to  an 
excessive  degree,  men  have  married,  had  healthy  children, 
and  been  weaned  from  their  unnatural  appetite. 

We  wish  most  clearly  to  be  understood  that  even  after  great 
excesses  of  this  nature,  a  young  man  may  recover  perfect 
health,  and  that  where  the  habit  has  been  but  moderately 
fostered,  in  nearly  every  case,  by  simply  ceasing  from  it,  and 
ceasing  thinking  about  it,  he  will  do  so.  Therefore  there  is 
no  cause  for  despair  or  melancholy. 

It  is  hardly  credible,  and  yet  it  is  true,  that  there  are 
medical  men  of  respectability  who  do  not  hesitate  to  advise 
illicit  intercourse  as  a  remedy  for  masturbation.  In  other 
words,  they  destroy  two  souls  and  bodies,  under  pretence  of 
saving  one !  No  man  with  Christian  principle,  or  even  with 
a  due  respect  for  the  statutes  of  the  commonwealth,  can  ap¬ 
prove  for  a  moment  such  a  course  as  this. 

Careful  regulation  of  life  according  to  sound  hygienic 


LAST  RESORTS. 


83 


rules,  aided  perhaps  with  appropriate  medication  which  tho 
physician  can  suggest,  will  generally  effect  good  results. 

When  everything  else  fails  we  have  no  hesitation  in  re¬ 
commending  surgical  treatment.  This  is  of  various  kinds, 
from  repeated  blistering  to  that  ancient  operation  which 
Latin  writers  tell  us  was  practised  upon  the  singers  of  the 
Roman  stage,  called  infibulation.  This  is  of  such  a  charac¬ 
ter  as  to  render  the  act  impossible  or  nearly  so.  Castration, 
which  some  have  suggested,  need  never  be  resorted  to.  By 
one  means  or  another  we  can  say  that  there  are  exceedingly 
few  cases,  except  the  actually  insane,  who  cannot  be  broken 
of  their  habit,  and  considerably  or  wholly  relieved  of  its 
after  effects. 

A  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  such  reform  is  the  un¬ 
willingness  of  sufferers  to  ask  advice  for  fear  of  disclosing 
their  weakness.  They  are  ashamed  to  tell  the  truth  about 
themselves,  and,  when  they  do  apply  to  a  physician,  conceal 
the  real  cause  of  their  debility,  and  deny  it  when  it  is  asked. 
To  such  we  may  say  that  if  they  cannot  have  implicit  faith 
in  the  honor  as  well  as  the  skill  of  a  medical  adviser,  they 
had  better  not  consult  him,  for  on  their  frankness  his  success 
will  often  depend. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to  on  this  subject:  Acton, 
On  the  Reproductive  Organs ,  p  82  ;  Dr.  Horatio  R.  Storer,  Is  it 
I?  Dr.  John  Ware,  Hints  to  Young  Men  on  the  Relations  of  the 
Sexes:  Tissot,  Snr  V  Onanrsme  ;  Rev.  John  Todd,  The  Student' s 
Manual;  Henry  Maudsley,  Physiology  and  Pathology  of  the 
Mind,  and  Journal  of  Mental  Science ,  July,  1868;  Miiller,  TJeber 
Unwillkurliche  Samensverluste,  pp.  23-34;  Esquirol,  Les  Mala¬ 
dies  Mentales  ;  Reports  of  the  Insane  Asylum  of  the  U.  &.  for 
1868,  1869,  etc.] 


SPERMATORRHOEA. 


If  the  functions  which  connect  us  with  our  species  are  a 
source  of  pleasure  when  properly  governed,  so  they  are  also 
the  causes  of  acutest  agony  when  disordered,  or  even  wThen 
we  only  imagine  they  are  so.  “  It  is  a  weakness  of  our  sex,” 
justly  remarks  a  well-known  American  surgeon,  “  to  be  over¬ 
sensitive  upon  everything  which  pertains  to  the  generative 
function.  A  man  will  be  more  alarmed  by  a  trifling  ailment 
there,  than  if  told  that  he  has  tubercles  in  his  lungs.” 

Fully  aware  of  this,  and  relying  on  the  general  ignorance 
on  this  subject,  the  most  unblushing  misrepresentations  have 
been  published  by  unscrupulous  men  for  the  sake  of  extorting 
money  from  terrified  dupes.  N owhere  do  we  see  the  lament¬ 
able  effects  of  popular  ignorance  more  sadly  displayed  than 
in  the  groundless  alarms  which  so  many  young  men  suffer 
lest  they  are  afflicted  with  the  disease  now  very  widely 
known  even  among  unprofessional  readers  as  spermator¬ 
rhoea.  It  is  our  object  to  do  away  with  these  fancied  ter¬ 
rors,  while  at  the  same  time  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  point 
out  where  real  danger  may  be. 

The  long  word  itself  means  an  involuntary  loss  of  the 
secretion  peculiar  to  the  male.  It  may  occur  only  in  sleep, 
or  else  at  stool,  or  wrhen  the  passions  are  much  excited,  or. 
when  the  parts  are  accidentally  irritated.  And  at  the  out¬ 
set  we  must  correct  an  extremely  prevalent  error.  We 
(84) 


NEEDLESS  FRIGHTS. 


85 


have  often  been  consulted  by  young  men  who  were  badly 
frightened  because  they  had  once,  or  twice,  or  three  times 
a  week,  or  more  rarely,  involuntary  losses  during  their 
sleep,  usually  associated  with  vivid,  passionate  dreams. 
They  feared  they  were  the  subject  of  some  terrible  disorder; 
they  believed  they  were  losing  their  virility,  and  were  fast 
becoming  melancholy  and  debilitated.  Their  appetites  were 
poor,  their  rest  disturbed,  their  minds  wandering. 

Now  all  these  symptoms  were  purely  the  results  of  a  distem¬ 
pered  fancy.  There  is  no  danger  in  such  discharges  when 
moderate.  They  are  not  a  sign  of  weakness,  but  of  strength. 
They  are  natural  to  every  healthy  young  man,  and  rarely 
lead  to  any  bad  results.  They  do  not  constitute  the  disease 
spermatorrhoea,  and  there  is  no  necessity  for  a  moment’s 
anxiety  about  them. 

Spermatorrhoea  itself  is  a  very  rare  disease,  although  it  is 
undoubtedly  a  very  serious  one  when  it  does  occur.  The 
patient  cannot  recognize  it  for  himself,  and  it  is  therefore 
useless  and  foolish  for  him  to  worry  his  mind  about  it.  If 
he  feels  his  health  running  down,  and  fears  this  may  be  the 
cause,  let  him  frankly  state  his  case  to  some  physician  in 
whom  he  has  confidence,  and  not  worry  his  own  mind  about 
it.  It  is  no  disgrace,  and  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of,  as  it 
arises  nearly  as  often  in  perfectly  continent  as  in  unchaste 
men. 

The  loss  of  the  secretion  then  takes  place  more  frequently 
than  we  have  mentioned,  without  dreams,  and  on  very  slight 
provocation.  It  is  associated  with  all  the  symptoms  of  an 
enervated  nervous  system,  extending  to  a  loss  of  memory, 
of  mental  power,  and  even  of  epilepsy  and  insanity.  The 
countenance  is  pale  or  sallow ;  the  features  drawn ;  the  eyes 
dull ;  the  spirits  depressed.  Exercise  of  the  functions  is 
impracticable,  or  nearly  so.  Profound  melancholy,  altered 


86 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


sexual  feeling — often  an  aversion  to  society  of  either  sex — « 
and  impotence,  may  also  present  themselves.  But  here,  as 
before,  we  shall  avoid  any  long  and  terrifying  catalogue  of 
symptoms.  When  a  man  feels  one-half  of  the  disturbances 
of  system  that  spermatorrhoea  brings,  he  should,  as  we  have 
said,  have  medical  advice,  and  the  physician  already  is  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  characters  of  the  disease. 

We  said  a  patient  cannot  decide  whether  he  has  this  com¬ 
plaint.  Every  one  of  its  symptoms  may  be  produced  by 
other  affections,  and  that  physical  sign  which  is  so  particu¬ 
larly  terrifying  to  patients,  and  which  when  they  see,  they 
conclude  at  once  that  all  is  over  with  them,  the  discharge 
of  a  white  glairy  fluid,  is  most  deceptive  and  uncertain. 
Many  comparatively  innocent  causes  may  give  rise  to  just 
such  discharges.  Altered  conditions  of  the  kidneys  and 
bladder,  local  inflammations,  and  specific  diseases  may  do  so. 
Nothing  but  a  careful  examination  under  the  microscope 
can  decide  whether  or  not  such  a  discharge  is  the  seminal 
secretion.  And  if  it  does  exhibit  those  peculiar  appear¬ 
ances — the  spermatozoids — which  distinguish  this  fluid,  they 
may  arise  from  accidental  and  innocent  causes.  Finally,  if 
it  is  shown  beyond  a  doubt  that  it  is  a  clear  case  of  sperma¬ 
torrhoea,  unless  there  are  severe  general  symptoms  of  depres¬ 
sion,  there  is  still  nothing  at  which  to  be  frightened.  Men 
have  lived  on  for  years  in  perfect  health  with  daily  losses  of 
the  kind.  Professor  Niemeyer,  relates  that  he  knew  person¬ 
ally  a  conductor  on  a  railroad,  who,  for  at  least  ten  years,  lost 
a  considerable  quantity  with  every  stool,  without  any  observa¬ 
ble  bad  effect  on  his  general  health.  He  was  married,  and 
his  wife  had  several  healthy  children.  The  British  surgeon, 
Mr.  W.F.  Teevan,  expresses  his  opinion  that  a  habitual  escape 
of  semen  when  straining  at  stool  “  occurs  to  most  men  during 
some  period  of  their  lives  without  producing  bad  results.’' 


CAUSES  OF  TROUBLE. 


8T 


This  illustrates  how  grossly  those  swindlers  impose  upon  the 
public,  who  would  make  the  ignorant  believe  that  any  loss 
of  the  kind  is  attended  with  disastrous  effects.  Our  advice 
is,  Do  not  fret  about  yourself,  and  keep  your  thoughts  and 
actions  pure,  and  you  will  not  suffer. 

But  while  we  say  all  this,  and  say  it  most  emphatically, 
our  duty  would  be  but  half  done  did  we  not  warn  in  equally' 
clear  language  against  the  evils  which  lead  to  the  real  dis¬ 
ease.  Though  it  is  rare,  it  is,  when  present,  most  destruc¬ 
tive  to  happiness  and  to  health,  and,  what  is  more  to  our 
purpose,  it  is  always  preventable.  We  shall  speak,  there¬ 
fore,  of 


What  brings  it  about? 

Undoubtedly  in  most  instances  this  is  self-abuse.  It  is 
another  of  the  bitter  penalties  which  nature  has  attached  to 
this  unnatural  crime.  What  is  more,  these  cases  are  the  most 
hopeless,  simply  because  the  victims  cannot  break  the  fatal 
chains  which  bind  them.  The  tongues  of  men  or  angels,  the 
solemn  warning  of  the  gospel  itself,  are  unavailing.  The 
only  choice  that  is  left  is  death  not  very  remote,  or  a  sur¬ 
gical  operation  which  absolutely  prevents  them  handling  the 
parts.  This  last  resort  has  succeeded  when  everything  else 
has  failed.  But  such  is  the  state  of  mind  of  most  victims 
that  they  cannot  nerve  themselves  to  submitting  to  it. 

A  second  cause  is  excess  in  indulgence.  This  may  be  in 
the  marital  relation,  but  far  more  frequently  it  occurs  in  the 
unmarried  who  are  more  apt  to  indemnify  themselves  for 
long  self-government  by  renouncing  all  restraint  when  oppor¬ 
tunity  offers.  Not  a  few  wretched  old  bachelors  wreck 
themselves  in  this  manner.  This  class,  too,  are  particularly 
exposed  to  another  cause  which  leads  to  the  same  result — 
secret  diseases.  The  after-consequences  of  these  when  neg- 


88 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


lected  or  ill-treated,  often  enough  produce  a  weakening  of 
the  part,  and  a  loss  of  power  to  retain  the  secretion.  So, 
too,  the  indulgence  in  impure  imaginings,  and  allowing  the 
passions  to  become  frequently  excited,  surely  bring  about  a 
similar  debility  with  a  like  tendency. 

All  these  are  causes  which  imply  a  degraded  mind  and 
disgraceful  habits.  But  it  must  be  understood  that  this 
disorder  may  arise  where  no  blame  whatever  attaches  to  the 
individual.  The  change  in  the  urine  which  takes  place  when 
the  substance  termed  oxalic  acid  is  secreted  in  large  quan¬ 
tities  renders  the  fluid  irritating,  and  may  lead  to  sperma¬ 
torrhoea.  So  unquestionably  may  stone  in  the  bladder, 
ulcers  and  worms  in  the  lower  bowel,  and  some  local  inflam¬ 
mations  arising  from  colds.  Prolonged  diarrhoea,  neglect  of 
cleanliness,  certain  skin  diseases,  the  inordinate  use  of  coffee, 
alcohol,  or  tobacco,  excessive  mental  application  to  the 
neglect  of  exercise,  and  a  hereditary  predisposition,  may 
all  or  any  of  them  lead  to  the  same  result,  without  the  indi¬ 
vidual  being  the  least  in  fault.  The  judicious  physician 
always  bears  this  in  mind,  and  we  mention  it,  so  that  no  un¬ 
founded  fear  lest  he  should  be  suspected  or  convicted  of 
debasing  practices  may  restrain  the  young  man  who  tears  he 
is  suffering  from  this  much-dreaded  complaint  from  candidly 
laying  bare  his  anxieties  to  his  medical  counsellor. 

And  if  it  be  these  habits  which  are  the  source  of  his  suffer¬ 
ing,  he  should  have  no  hesitation  in  making  a  frank  statement, 
for  the  physician’s  office  is  as  inviolable  as  the  confessional, 
and  he  knows  too  well  that  ignorance  is  at  the  source  of  this 
habit,  to  condemn  or  despise  one  who  is  or  has  be^o  tnder 
its  fell  sway. 


PREVENTIVE  RULES. 


89 


How  to  prevent  it. 

The  suggestions  we  have  to  offer  here  are  rendered  almost 
unnecessary  by  what  we  have  said  of  its  causes.  Many  of 
them — all  of  them,  indeed,  except  the  hereditary  predisposi¬ 
tion — are  within  the  power  of  the  individual  to  avoid,  if  he 
only  knows  enough  to  begin  in  time.  The  instructions  we 
have  previously  given  in  detail  about  the  general  hygiene  of 
the  passions  will  apply  to  those  who  are  threatened  by  weak, 
ness  in  consequence  of  excesses,  either  social  or  solitary. 
When  the  water  or  adjacent  irritations  are  to  blame,  these 
can  promptly  be  remedied  by  any  intelligent  physician  ;  and 
when  the  habits  of  food  or  drink  are  injurious  they  must  be 
amended. 

Even  when  there  is  a  natural  weakness  which  leads  to  over 
frequent  losses,  very  much  can  be  accomplished  by  cold 
bathing,  regular  exercise,  an  unstimulating  diet,  and  rigid 
purity.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  is  one  of  those  diseases 
which  never  occurs  in  a  person  who  submits  his  life  to 
thorough  hygienic  regulations  ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  a  disease 
which  we  hope  soon  to  see  almost  unknown  to  the  young 
men  of  our  day. 

How  to  cure  it. 

Although  this  is  the  physician’s  business  and  not  the 
patient’s,  and  although  it  is  no  part  of  our  plan  to  instruct  or 
to  advise  the  sick  to  heal  themselves,  there  are  some  remarks 
we  have  to  make  under  this  head,  which  if  borne  in  mind 
and  observed,  will  very  materially  assist  the  doctor,  and  aid 
those  who  cannot  obtain  the  services  of  one.  There  is  hardly 
any  complaint  in  which  treatment  will  be  less  satisfactory, 
unless  the  patient  co-operates  with  his  adviser.  He  must 


90 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


renounce  injurious  and  irregular  habits,  shun  evil  companions, 
keep  watch  and  ward  over  his  emotions,  avoid  as  he  would 
the  pest  all  prurient  literature,  and  live  a  chaste  life.  If  he 
will  not  or  cannot  do  this,  he  is  lost. 

Hardly  less  important  is  it  that  he  should  strive  by  occu¬ 
pation,  innocent  recreations,  study,  and  refined  society  to 
divert  his  thoughts  from  his  symptoms.  Nine-tenths  of  the 
misery  which  spermatorrhoea  brings  arises  directly  or  indi¬ 
rectly  from  mental  sources.  If  it  cannot  be  thrown  off  it 
can  be  dodged,  and  no  effort  or  expense  should  be  spared  to 
seek  genial  and  proper  diversions.  Nearly  all  such  patients 
have  a  penchant  for  reading  semi-medical  books,  and  take  a 
gloomy  satisfaction  in  perusing  over  and  over  again  the  long 
trains  of  appalling  symptoms  which  some  writers  have  gathered 
together  as  indicative  of  seminal  losses.  If  such  reading 
strengthened  the  will  to  resist  temptation,  or  acted  as  a 
salutary  warning,  we  should  not  say  a  word  against  it.  But 
this  is  conspicuously  not  the  case.  It  only  serves  to  make 
them  still  more  hypochondriacal  and  unnerved.  Let  it  be 
altogether  eschewed. 

Of  the  methods  of  cure,  one  has  acquired  an  unfortunate 
publicity  through  its  ignorant  and  often  injurious  employ¬ 
ment — this  is  by  cauterization.  Many  sufferers  have  had 
their  pains  greatly  and  uselessly  increased  by  its  injudicious 
application,  many  more  have  submitted  to  it  when  they 
had  no  disease  at  all,  and  were  only  hypochondriacal,  and 
tormented  by  imaginary  evils.  It  is  rarely  that  it  need  be 
employed,  and  should  never  be  thought  of  for  a  moment 
when  in  the  hands  of  an  advertising  or  itinerant  charlatan. 

Our  most  emphatic  warning — and  we  cannot  lay  too  much 
stress  upon  it — is  to  shun  irregular  empirics  and  those  who 
advertise  themselves  as  “  specialists”  in  this  department. 
Most  scandalous  cases  of  extortion,  mal-practice,  and  black- 


CURATIVE  MEANS. 


91 


mail  come  up  before  the  police  courts  of  our  city  nearly 
every  year,  and  show  most  plainly  how  these  insatiable 
leeches  cajole  and  frighten  their  victims  to  the  last  degree, 
and  for  all  their  money  furnish  no  sort  of  relief.  Let  the 
sufferer  appeal  to  some  regular  physician  of  good  repute, 
and  preferably,  one  whom  he  personally  knows,  rather  than 
run  any  such  risks. 

When  the  seminal  losses  occur  during  sleep,  they  can 
generally  be  checked  by  taking  the  following  prescription 
after  each  meal,  care  being  had  not  to  allow  it  to  touch  the 
teeth,  which  it  is  apt  to  injure  : — 

Muriated  tincture  of  iron,  twenty  drops  ; 

Water,  one  tablespoonful. 

A  cold  bath  should  be  taken  just  before  retiring,  the  water 
being  poured  along  the  spine  from  a  height,  for  three  to 
ten  minutes.  The  bladder  should  be  thoroughly  emptied, 
and  a  position  on  the  back  avoided,  as  this  posture  allows 
the  urine  to  accumulate  and  press  upon  that  portion  of  the 
bladder  which  is  most  sensitive.  It  is  sometimes  necessary 
when  one  cannot  break  himself  from  assuming  such  a  posi¬ 
tion  during  sleep,  to  wear  a  plate  with  a  projecting  piece, 
fastened  on  the  back  with  a  strap  or  belt,  or  what  is  equally 
good,  to  tie  a  towel  around  the  body  with  a  hard  knot  in  it 
just  over  the  spine. 

Several  means  have  been  devised  to  prevent  erections 
during  sleep,  and  instrument  makers  vend  for  this  purpose 
“spermatorrhoea]  rings,”  which  have  on  their  inner  surface 
sharp  points.  These  are  worn  at  night,  and  the  pain  caused 
by  the  points  wakes  the  person  as  soon  as  the  erection  com¬ 
mences. 

Such  contrivances  rarely,  answer  the  purpose  on  account 
of  their  inconvenience,  and  the  difficulty  of  procuring  them 
8 


92 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


when  wanted.  A  better  and  cheaper  plan  has  lately  been 
suggested  by  Dr.  Wood,  in  the  Canada  Medical  Journal . 
He  reports  having  used  successfully  in  two  cases  of  this 
hind,  one  a  very  desperate  and  intractable  one,  in  which  all 
other  measures  had  failed,  the  following  simple  method :  “  I 
took  a  strip  of  isinglass  adhesive  plaster,  two  inches  long  by 
half  an  inch  wide,  moistened  it,  and  applied  it  along  the 
back  of  the  member.  It  wrnrked  like  a  charm,  and  the  young 
man  has  not  been  troubled  since,  when  the  plaster  is  on. 
He  is  now  entirely  recovered  and  at  work  at  his  trade.” 

This  method  will  also  prove  of  service  in  those  obstinate 
cases  where  self-pollution  is  carried  on  during  sleep,  and  at 
no  other  time.  Mr.  Acton  relates  the  case  of  a  young  man 
who  could  break  himself  of  this  only  by  tying  his  hands  to 
a  cord  passed  around  his  neck  ;  and  Prof.  S.  M.  Bemiss,  of 
the  University  of  Louisiana,  mentions  in  the  New  Orleans 
Journal  of  Medicine,  one  of  his  patients,  a  boy  of  eighteen, 
wdio  had  brought  on  epilepsy  by  nocturnal  masturbation,  to 
prevent  wThich  they  tied  his  hands  and  feet  nightly  to  the 
bed  posts. 

The  French  surgeon,  M.  Doisneau,  has  recently  published 
a  description  of  an  instrument  he  uses  for  this  purpose, 
which  interrupts  the  circulation  to  the  genital  organs,  and 
thus  renders  erection  impossible.  He  has  used  it  with  signal 
success  in  several  cases.  It  consists  of  a  strap  passing  be¬ 
tween  the  thighs,  to  which  are  fastened  two  tightly-stuffed 
balls,  which  compress  the  arteries  leading  to  the  member, 
and  cut  off  the  supply  of  blood. 

This  bandage  is  applied  over  the  shirt  upon  retiring  for 
the  night,  and  by  means  of  straps  we  can  obtain  a  compres¬ 
sion  sufficient  to  render  an  erection  very  rare,  if  indeed  it 
ever  takes  place,  the  circulation  being  so  interrupted  th»A 


HINTS  FOR  TREATMENT. 


93 


the  parts  remain  benumbed,  and  as  though  paralyzed  by 
sleep. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to  in  this  section  :  Hr.  Van 
Buren,  Lecture  on  Spermatorrhoea  y  N.  Y.  Med.  Gazette;  Corres¬ 
pondence  on  Spermatorrhoea ,  Med.  and  Surg.  Reporter ,  May  and 
June,  1870;  Prof.  Niemeyer,  Text  Boofc  of  Practical  Medicine. 
vol.  ii.  ;  Lallemand,  Practical  Treatise  on  Spermatorrhoea  ;  Dr. 
Marris  Wilson,  Diseases  of  the  Vesiculce  Seminales ,  chap.  iii.  v. 
vi. ;  Dr.  Albert  Milller,  JJeber  Unwillkiirliche  Samenverluste ; 
Bemiss,  in  New  Orleans  Jouriial  of  Medicine ,  Oct.  1869  ;  Half 
Yearly  Compendium  of  the  Medical  Science ,  Jan.  1867;  Erichsen, 
System  of  Surgery;  St.  I  amis  Medical  Archives;  Dr.  Wood,  Ca¬ 
nada  Medical  Journal ;  Mr.  Teevan,  British  Medical  Journal , 
May,  1870.  Doisneau’s  apparatus  is  described  in  Le  Courier  Mi - 
iicaie ,  1869  j  and  the  St.  Louis  Medical  Archives ,  same  year.) 


SECRET  DISEASES 


Their  Effects  and  Frequency. 

A.  masked  pestilence,  a  subtle  infection  is  stealing  upon 
the  nealth  u  1  the  nation,  poisoning  its  blood  and  shorten- 
ing  its  life,  spreading  from  husband  to  wife,  from  parent  to 
offspring,  from  uurse  to  infant,  working  slowly  but  with  a 
fatal  and  an  inexorable  certainty.  This  pestilence  is  the 
specific  contagion  of  diseases  which  arise  .from  impure  inter¬ 
course. 

Were  this  its  or  iy  source,  and  did  it  stay  its  ravages  with 
the  guilty  parties,  we  might  say,  it  is  a  just  penalty,  and 
calls  for  little  sympathy.  But  this  is  not  so.  By  the  in¬ 
scrutable  law  of  Goa,  which  decrees  that  the  sins  of  the 
father  shall  be  visited  r»n  the  children,  even  unto  the  third 
and  fourth  generation,  tliese  diseases  work  attainder  of 
blood,  become  hereditary,  and  blight  the  offspring.  They 
pass  from  the  guilty  to  the  innocent  by  lawful  intercourse, 
by  vaccination,  by  circumcision,  by  nursing,  by  utensils,  even 
by  a  kiss.  Hundreds  of  examples  are  recorded  in  medical 
literature,  where  the  infection  has  spread  by  just  such  means. 
Not  a  single  physician  of  experience  who  has  not  witnessed 
wife  and  children  poisoned  by  the  husband’s  infidelity. 

Here  again  we  fear  that  we  shall  be  called  alarmists,  and 
severely  criticized  for  exciting  unnecessary  apprehension. 
We  care  not.  This  is  no  imaginary  evil  we  combat,  nor  is  it 
any  paltry  or  insignificant  one.  We  do  but  repeat;  and  with 
(  94  ) 


SECRET  DISEASES. 


95 

moderated  emphasis,  what  others  have  already  said.  We 
have  before  us  a  work  which  is  anything  but  sensational, 
and  which  was  written  by  men  who  stand  second  to  none  in 
our  land  for  professional  and  personal  character.  It  is  the 
Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  (1868).  The  Board  are  speaking  (p.  lvi.)  of  “that 
hideous  disease  which  must  have  come  from  the  most  veno¬ 
mous  fang  of  the  serpent  which  bit  the  heel  of  mankind,” 
and  they  go  on  to  say : — 

“Woe  to  the  bodily  tabernacle  in  which  it  once  enters; 
for  it  is  one  of  those  evil  spirits  which  not  even  prayer  and 
fasting  can  cast  out.  With  slow,  painless,  insidious,  resist¬ 
less  march,  it  penetrates  into  the  very  marrow  of  the  bones, 
and  poisons  the  fountain  of  life  beyond  purification.  All 
may  look  fair  without  and  feel  fair  within,  but  the  taint  is 
there,  and  it  aiTects  the  offspring.  The  effects  of  this  dis¬ 
order  in  corrupting  the  human  stock,  and  predisposing  off¬ 
spring  to  disease,  are  more  deadly  than  is  usually  believed. 
They  are  hardly  exceeded  by  the  effects  of  alcohol.  Nature 
readily  ‘  forgives  unto  the  sons  of  men  other  sins  and  blas¬ 
phemies  wherewith  soever  they  may  blaspheme,’  but  this 
one,  like  ‘  him  that  blasphemeth  against  the  Holy  Spirit, 
hath  never  forgiveness,  but  is  in  danger  of  eternal  damna¬ 
tion,  for  he  hath  an  unclean  spirit.’  ” 

And  this  is  said,  be  it  remembered,  in  a  public  document, 
for  general  distribution.  Can  we  then  be  blamed  if  we  re¬ 
move  without  compunction  the  veil  which  hides  the  hideous 
features  of  this  malady?  Would  we  not  deserve  extremest 
censure  in  a  work  of  this  nature  if  we  hesitated  so  to  do  ? 

We  would  gladly  add,  to  counterbalance  what  we  have  to 
say  on  this  point,  that  such  maladies  are  rare.  But  who 
would  believe  it  ?  Js  it  not  notorious  that  there  is  no  hamlet 
^o  remote,  no  frontie .  settlement  so  isolated,  that  it  is  free  of 


f 


96 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


this  scourge  ?  In  the  great  cities  it  is  fearfully  prevalent. 
Including  both  sexes  and  all  grades  of  society  we  do  not 
doubt  that  more  than  twenty-five  -per  cent,  of  their  whole 
population  is  more  or  less  tainted  with  it,  and  the  greater 
number  innocently .  Nor  is  it  at  all  confined  to  the  indigent 
and  the  degraded.  Its  hold  is  just  as  firm,  though  concealed 
and  held  in  check,  in  the  fashionable  clubs  and  stately  man¬ 
sions  of  the  opulent,  as  in  the  alleys  and  back  slums  of  the 
dregs  of  our  population.  No  man,  no  woman,  we  care  not 
what  his  position  or  his  life  may  be,  is  secure  from  its  loath¬ 
some  touch. 

How  great,  therefore,  is  the  error  of  those  who  speak  of  it 
as  a  penalty  which  is  confined  to  low  vice  only  ?  And  how 
short-sighted  the  policy  which  bids  us  to 

“  Skin  and  film  the  ulcerous  plnce, 

Whiles  rank  corruption,  mining  all  within, 

Infects  unseen.” 

This  social  problem  interests  the  public.  They  must  ap¬ 
preciate  the  danger,  they  mst  unite  and  act,  they  must  take 
up  arms  in  solemn  earntA,  and  determine  to  curb  and  limit, 
and  if  any  wray  possible  utterly  stamp  out,  this  spreading 
evil.  What  information  seems  to  us  of  use  for  this  purpose 
we  shall  proceed  to  give. 

Their  Nature  and  History. 

The  contagious  diseases  which  are  propagated  by  the 
sexual  relations  are  two  in  number,  and  are  technically 
known  as  gonorrhoea  and  syphilis.  They  both  commence 
by  some  local  manifestation,  and  may  not  proceed  further; 
but  about  as  often  they  rapidly  extend  to  the  whole  system, 
and  produce  effects  upon  it  which  are  as  permanent  in  cha¬ 
racter  as  those  by  vaccination  or  other  L'lecific  virus. 


HISTORY  OF  SYPHILIS. 


9* 

By  far  the  most  insidious  and  destructive  is  syphilis.  This 
is  supposed  by  some  writers  to  have  been  unknown  in  Europe 
until  about  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  America.  And 
not  a  few  historians  maintain  that  it  was  conveyed  from  the 
natives  of  the  West  Indies  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old 
World  by  the  sailors  of  Columbus.  Certainly  about  that 
time  it  broke  out  with  unparalleled  virulence  in  the  camps, 
courts,  and  brothels  of  Spain,  Italy,  France  and  England. 
No  country  was  willing  to  father  it,  so  the  English  called  it 
the  “French  disease;”  the  French,  “le  mal  de  Naples;”  the 
Italians,  “  la  mallattia  della  Spagna.” 

There  is  good  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  neither 
Columbus,  the  Indians,  nor  any  one  of  these  nations  was 
solely  to  blame  in  the  matter.  Probably  it  had  lurked  un¬ 
recognized  and  under  comparatively  innocent  forms  through 
all  races  and  ages.  At  the  epoch  referred  to,  the  massing  of 
great  armies  by  Francis  I.  and  Charles  V.,  and  the  increased 
commerce,  acting  together  with  some  change  in  the  human 
constitution  itself,  led  to  a  violent  outbreak  in  its  most  viru¬ 
lent  form.  Some  have  imagined  that  the  ancient  leprosy,  so 
often  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  one  of  its  forms ; 
and  others,  that  it  was  derived  from  the  glanders  in  the 
horse,  transplanted  into  the  human  economy.  But  these 
theoretical  views  are  of  little  public  interest,  and  it  is  enough 
to  remember  that,  about  the  year  1500,  a  very  malignant 
type  of  the  disease  arose  and  spread  with  fearful  rapidity, 
and  that  since  that  time  it  has  been  rightly  deemed  one  of 
the  scourges  of  the  human  race. 

The  other  form  of  secret  disease,  gonorrhoea,  was  well 
known  to  the  ancient  Romans,  and  to  the  lawgivers  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  old  English  statutes  of  the  fourteenth  cen¬ 
tury  concerning  brothels  distinctly  refer  to  it  as  “tho 
perilous  infirmitie  of  burnynge.”  It,  too,  appears  to  havo 


98 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


increased  in  frequency  and  severity  about  the  same  time  as 
syphilis,  and  is  to-day  certainly  much  more  severe  than  it 
was  even  in  the  dissolute  commonwealth  of  imperial  Rome. 
So  far  have  a  riper  civilization,  a  more  advanced  medical 
science,  and  a  purer  morality  failed  to  curb  these  insidious 
complaints,  that  they  are  now  probably  more  widely  distri¬ 
buted  than  ever  before,  and  little,  if  at  all,  abated  in  vio¬ 
lence.  The  only  point  which  we  have  actually  gained — and 
this  certainly  is  much — is  to  treat  them  with  greater  suc¬ 
cess  than  hitherto. 

The  Course  and  the  Consequences  of  Secret  Diseases. 

We  believe  that  if  the  public  generally,  and  especially 
young  men,  were  better  aware  of  the  dangers  they  incur  from 
illicit  indulgence,  there  would  be  a  determined  effort  at  re¬ 
form  both  in  municipal  and  personal  life.  We  cannot  think 
that  sane,  intelligent  men,  to  say  nothing  of  morality,  would, 
for  the  gratification  of  an  ephemeral  desire,  risk  the  well-being 
of  their  whole  lives  and  the  health  of  their  offspring.  It 
must  be  ignorance  of  danger  which  blinds  them.  The  fools 
rush  in  where  the  wise  men  fear  to  tread. 

Our  intention,  therefore,  is  not  to  rehearse  a  harassing 
and  disgusting  train  of  symptoms  of  no  value  except  to  the 
medical  man,  but  to  state  in  plain  terms  the  general  course 
and  the  frequent  consequences  of  these  diseases. 

We  have  already  said  both  commence  by  local  manifesta¬ 
tions  of  some  kind,  which,  after  a  time,  are  followed  by  a 
general  contamination  of  the  system.  This  is  the  case  with 
both,  but  in  different  degrees.  The  after-effects  of  gonor¬ 
rhoea  are  much  the  less  severe,  and  are  confined  wholly  to 
the  individual.  It  does  not  leave  any  hereditary  taint.  But 
it  may  bring  about  life-long  suffering.  The  passage  from  the 


EFFECTS  ON  THE  INDIVIDUAL. 


99 


Diadder  becomes  inflamed  and  contracted;  that  organ  itself 
fs  very  apt  to  partake  of  the  inflammation,  and  become  irri¬ 
table  and  sensitive ;  spermatorrhoea  and  impotence  with  all 
their  miseries  may  follow,  and  the  whole  economy  may  par¬ 
take  of  the  infection.  An  eruption  on  the  skin  and  an  obsti¬ 
nate  form  of  rheumatism,  both  wholly  intractable  to  ordinary 
remedies,  are  more  common  than  even  many  physicians 
imagine.  Not  unfrequently  those  troublesome  chronic  rheu¬ 
matic  complaints  which  annoy  men  in  middle  and  advanced 
life  are  the  late  castigations  which  Nature  is  inflicting  for 
early  transgressions. 

These  results,  though  serious  enough,  are  too  personal  to 
demand  public  action.  But  not  so  with  those  which  flow 
from  syphilis.  They  are  so  wide  reaching  that  every  philan¬ 
thropist  must  feel  it  his  duty,  when  once  made  aware  of  them, 
to  urgently  insist  on  some  general  measures — if  such  can  be 
devised — which  will  abate  them,  and  protect  the  innocent 
thousands  on  whom  they  are  visited. 

We  shall  first  speak  of  the  effects  of  syphilis  on  the  indi¬ 
vidual.  They  are  divided  into  three  classes  ;  first,  the  local 
attack,  which  commences  as  a  small  ulcer  on  the  part  touched 
by  the  virus.  Next  in  order  of  time  are  the  secondary 
symptoms ;  they  may  show  themselves  in  three  or  four 
weeks,  and  may  lurk  unnoticed  for  that  many  months ;  the 
poison  attacks  the  skin  and  soft  parts  of  the  body,  producing 
rashes,  ulcerations,  swelling  of  the  glands,  sore  throat,  disor¬ 
ders  of  the  stomach,  liver,  and  other  internal  organs ;  the 
hair  loosens  and  falls  out,  the  spirits  are  depressed,  and  the 
brain  may  be  attacked,  leading  to  imbecility,  epilepsy,  or 
insanity.  At  this  stage,  shallow  ulcers  are  apt  to  form  on 
the  tongue  and  just  inside  the  lips.  The  discharge  from  them 
is  a  poison  and  can  convey  the  disease,  and  so  can  a  drop  of 
jflood  from  the  infected  person.  Let  one  in  this  condition 


100 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


kiss  another,  or  drink  from  a  cup,  or  use  a  pipe  or  a  spoon, 
and  pass  it  to  another,  the  danger  is  great  that  the  disease  will 
thus  be  transmitted.  An  instance  is  recently  reported  in  a 
French  medical  journal  of  a  glassblowrer  who  was  suffering 
from  such  ulcerations.  As  is  usual,  in  all  respects  he  ap¬ 
peared  in  good  health,  and  was  received  into  a  manufactory. 
In  these  establishments  the  workmen  are  accustomed  to  pass 
the  tube  through  which  the  glass  is  blown  rapidly  from 
mouth  to  mouth.  He  had  been  there  only  a  few  weeks  when 
the  physician  to  the  factory  was  applied  to  for  “sore  mouths,” 
and  found  to  his  horror  that  this  single  diseased  man  had 
infected  in  the  process  of  blowing  bottles,  nine  others.  Let 
such  an  example  be  a  salutary  warning  to  neatness  and 
caution,  as  well  as  an  illustration  how  often  innocent  per¬ 
sons  can  become  the  victims  of  this  loathsome  complaint. 
Let  it  also  be  an  admonition  to  charity,  and  against  hasty 
condemnation  of  the  sufferers. 

The  third  step  in  the  progress  of  the  disease  is  when  the 
bones  are  attacked.  They  often  enlarge,  become  painful, 
and  may  ultimately  ulcerate.  Especially  between  the  knee 
and  the  ankle,  and  on  the  head  is  this  the  case.  By  this 
time  the  whole  body  is  poisoned,  and  an  ineradicable  taint 
is  infused  in  the  system.  The  constitution,  though  still  ap¬ 
parently  strong,  is  liable  to  give  way  at  any  moment.  There 
is  no  longer  the  same  power  to  repair  injuries  which  there 
once  was.  The  bones  are  brittle,  and  slow  to  heal.  We 
knew  of  a  young  man  of  promise  who  was  in  this  condition. 
One  day,  in  merely  attempting  to  pull  off  his  boot,  he  snapped 
his  thigh-bone,  weakened  as  it  was  by  the  disease.  For 
nearly  two  years  he  lay  on  his  bed,  and  was  only  released  by 
death.  Let  any  one  who  wishes  to  see  a  picture  of  what  a 
human  being  is  who  is  brought  to  this  wretched  condition  by 
his  vices  or  his  misfortune,  peruse  the  sketch  entitled  “  A 


GROUNDLESS  ERRORS. 


101 


Man  tiDout  Town”  in  Mr.  Warren’s  remarkable  book,  “The 
Diary  of  a  London  Physician.”  If  after  reading  that  masterly 
delineation  he  still  feels  willing  to  incur  tne  risk  of  such  a 
loathsome  fate,  tnen  to  him  other  words  of  warning  are  vain 
and  needless. 


‘‘Syphilophobia.” 

While  we  do  not  wish  to  mitigate  by  one  line  the  dark 
colors  of  this  picture,  we  still  have  a  word  of  consolation 
which  we  shall  interpolate  here.  By  no  means  every  case 
of  disease  runs  on  to  this  dire  form ;  constitutions  differ  ex¬ 
ceedingly,  and  on  some  the  effects  of  the  poison  are  brief 
and  passing.  A  hideous  phantom  haunts  some  men  lest 
they  should  have  this  disease  lurking  in  their  system.  They 
watch  with  terror  every  swelling  and  eruption  on  themselves 
and  their  children.  None  but  the  observant  physician  can 
appreciate  what  horrors  prey  upon  them.  We  know  the 
son  of  a  distinguished  professor,  a  young  man  who  lapsed 
from  virtue  but  once  and  contracted  a  mild  form  of  the  dis¬ 
ease,  wTho  became  a  hopeless  lunatic  from  this  constant 
dread.  This  is  what  is  called  “syphilophobia,”  and  is  a  by 
no  means  infrequent  cause  of  insanity,  suicide,  and  reckless 
living.  The  charlatan  finds  in  such  a  man  a  ready  victim 
for  his  extortionate  demands.  As  a  rule,  these  sufferers 
avoid  telling  their  family  physician,  and  prefer  to  consult 
some  distant  and  unknown  adviser.  Hence  they  often  fall 
into  the  hands  of  bad  men,  wrho  play  upon  their  fears,  swin¬ 
dle  them  out  of  their  money,  do  them  no  good  whatever,  and 
when  all  else  fails  to  satisfy  rapacious  demands,  levy  black¬ 
mail,  under  threat  of  disclosing  their  condition.  This 
course  of  rascality  is  so  common  that  we  warn  all  our 
readers  against  trusting  their  health,  fortune,  and  reputa- 


102 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


tions  with  any  man,  no  matter  what  his  claims,  of  whom 
they  have  no  better  guarantee  of  his  honor  ana  skill  than 
his  own  word  therefor,  and  some  dozens  of  fraudulent  certifi¬ 
cates  from  unknown  parties.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  all 
such  fears  are  groundless  and  unfounded. 

The  Sin  of  the  Father  Visited  on  the  Children. 

If  there  is  any  field  where  the  philanthropist  and  reformer 
is  most  urgently  demanded,  it  is  to  limit  the  infant  mortality 
■which  prevails  to  such  an  alarming  extent  in  our  great 
cities.  In  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia  over  one- 
fourth,  in  Cincinnati  nearly  one-third  (30  per  cent.)  of  all 
the  children  born  alive  perish  within  the  first  year  of  life ! 
What  a  portentous  fact  is  this  ?  What  are  the  causes  of 
this  frightful  mortality? 

We  will  mention  one.  A  physician  of  wide  experience 
has  calculated,  after  careful  inquiry,  that  fourth  on  the  list 
of  causes  is  hereditary  syphilis.  But  even  this  statement 
does  not  at  all  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  effect  of  this 
disease  on  limiting  and  corrupting  population.  Of  the  in¬ 
fants  which  are  stillborn,  the  number  is  very  great,  and  of 
these,  the  most  frequent  cause  of  death,  according  to  that 
cautious  writer,  Dr.  Berkeley  Hill,  is  syphilis. 

But  even  if  the  child  survives  its  first  year,  the  danger  is 
not  past.  It  may  be  the  picture  of  health  till  five  or  six 
years  of  age,  or  to  the  period  of  puberty,  or  even  to  adult 
age,  and  then  first  reveal  the  long-concealed  poison  which 
has  lurked  in  the  system  ever  since  its  being  began.  That 
poison  shows  itself  under  a  hundred  protean  forms.  It  may 
be  in  eruptions  on  the  skin  and  foul  ulcerations,  or  in  obsti¬ 
nate  “colds  in  the  head,”  in  swelling  of  the  bones,  in  a  pecu¬ 
liar  affection  of  the  eyes  leading  to  blindness,  in  brittle  and 


LAWS  OF  TRANSMISSION. 


103 


loose  teeth,  in  the  protean  symptoms  of  scrofula,  in  idiocy, 
stunted  growth,  and  in  insanity. 

Such  are  the  legacies  which  parents  who  through  vice  or 
misfortune  have  been  cursed  with  this  disease  have  to  hand 
down  to  their  offspring.  “  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes,  and  the  children’s  teeth  are  set  on  edge.” 

Face  to  face  with  these  facts,  it  becomes  of  the  highest 
general  interest  to  learn  what  the  laws  of  such  transmission 
are,  so  far  as  they  have  been  discovered  by  careful  observa¬ 
tion. 

They  are  curious.  It  is  possible  for  a  man  in  whose  con¬ 
stitution  the  taint  of  disease  exists,  but  is  latent,  to  have 
perfectly  sound  offspring.  But  if  he  has  any  symptoms  of 
the  disease  in  any  stage,  it  is  probable,  nay,  almost  certain, 
that  his  children  will  show  the  effects  of  it,  although  their 
mother  remains  healthy. 

Much  more  generally  the  mother  takes  the  disease  either 
from  the  father,  or  from  the  unborn  child  in  whose  body 
lurks  the  paternal  taint.  But  unless  she  does  so  before  the 
seventh  month  of  her  pregnancy,  she  will  escape. 

When  both  mother  and  father  display  unequivocal  signs 
of  the  disease,  the  case  of  the  child  is  desperate.  There  is 
hardly  any  hope  of  its  being  born  sound. 

When  such  a  child  is  born,  it  is  a  dangerous  source  of  in¬ 
fection  for  all  around  it.  The  nurse  who  applies  it  to  her 
breast,  the  friend  who  kisses  it,  the  attendants  who  handle 
it,  are  in  imminent  danger  of  becoming  in  turn  victims  of 
the  loathsome  disease. 

The  only  person  who  can  nurse  or  even  touch  it  without 
danger  is  the  mother  who  bore  it.  It  is  in  tms  form  of  in¬ 
fantile  syphilis  that  the  disease  is  most  easily  communicated. 
In  the  strong,  and  yet  not  too  strong  language  of  Dr.  Colles. 
a  well-known  English  surgeon  :  “  The  readiness  with  which 


104 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


syphilis  in  infants  can  be  communicated  by  contact  cannot 
be  exceeded  by  any  other  disease  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 
I  look  upon  it  as  equally  infectious  with  the  itch  itself.'1 
And  Dr.  Barton  adds :  “  A  common  mode  by  which  the 
syphilitic  infant  spreads  the  disease  is  by  being  kissed  by 
the  girl  that  carries  it,  or  by  others.” 

If  this  is  so — and  there  is  no  doubt  of  it — is  it  not  time 
that  the  public  received  some  warning  about  it  ?  Are  we 
to  shut  our  mouths  and  see  these  perils  to  public  health 
hourly  increasing,  and  say  nothing,  do  nothing  ? 

Let  such  a  child  by  careful  attention  and  sound  hygiene 
survive  to  adult  life,  and  become  in  turn  the  father  or  mother 
of  a  family,  even  then  unrelenting  nature  may  not  be  satis¬ 
fied.  There  are  undoubted  cases  on  record  where  the  disease 
was  handed  down,  in  spite  of  every  care  and  strict  virtue,  to 
the  third  generation,  and  perhaps  to  the  fourth. 

It  appears  in  multiplied  forms  of  disease.  “We  are  com¬ 
pelled  to  conclude,”  says  Dr.  Barton,  summing  up  in  his 
recent  work  the  many  observations  on  the  transmission  of 
syphilis,  “  that  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  those 
chronic  diseases  of  the  eyes,  skin,  glands,  and  bones,  to  which 
the  epithet  scrofidous  has  been  applied,  are  really  the  results 
of  inherited  syphilis.” 

And  all  this  misery,  all  these  curses  long  drawn  out,  these 
consequences  so  dire  to  innocent  generations,  the  penalty  of 
one  moment  of  illicit  pleasure,  the  vengeance  of  a  violated 
law  which  knows  justice  but  no  mercy  ! 

With  these  deplorable  possibilities  in  view,  it  becomes  a 
serious  question 

How  soon  can  a  Man,  once  Diseased,  Marry  ? 

A  French  specialist  of  eminence  does  not  hesitate  to  reply : 
Never.  We”  cannot  agree  with  him.  In  a  large  number  of 


MARRIAGE  FORBIDDEN. 


105 


persons  the  disease  is  transient,  mild,  curable.  In  others 
it  may  be  severe  and  obstinate,  but  finally  yields  entirely  to 
judicious  treatment.  Only  in  a  small  minority  is  it  utterly 
ineradicable.  That  it  is  so,  however,  in  this  minority,  and 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  say  positively,  who  does  not 
belong  to  it,  is  unquestionable.  We  doubt  if  any  man  having 
once  had  decided  infection  can  positively  say  that  he  has 
entirely  recovered  from  it. 

W e  know  a  respectable  physician  who,  when  commencing 
practice,  contracted  syphilis  on  the  finger  in  attending  the 
confinement  of  a  diseased  woman.  It  became  constitutional, 
but  by  active  treatment  he  apparently  completely  cured  it. 
He  married,  and  has  four  to  all  appearance  healthy  children. 
Fourteen  years  after  all  symptoms  had  disappeared,  on  an 
occasion  when  his  general  health  was  lowered  by  loss  of  rest 
and  anxietv,  the  disease  broke  out  anew.  There  is  not  a 
doubt  but  that  during  the  whole  of  that  period  it  had  been 
lurking  in  his  blood. 

English  writers  wrho  have  given  the  question  we  are  con¬ 
sidering  a  great  deal  of  attention  on  account  of  its  vast  social 
importance,  and  the  frequency  with  which  it  is  asked,  have 
settled  on  the  following  rule,  which  we  believe  may  be  ac¬ 
cepted  as  of  general  validity,  and  may  be  acted  on  with  very 
little  hesitation :  The  shortest  period  between  the  latest 
epoch  of  the  contraction  of  disease  and  marriage  must  be 
three  years ;  and  at  least  one  full  year  must  elapse  between 
the  disappearance  of  the  last  symptom  of  the  complaint  and 
the  marriage. 

We  recommend  also  to  all  who  apply  to  us  for  advice  on 
this  difficult  subject,  to  test  their  constitutions  thoroughly, 
and  see  if  they  have  any  seeds  of  the  malady  in  their  sys¬ 
tems.  This  can  be  done  by  bathing  daily  for  a  month  in 
warm  natural  sulphur  waters ;  for  example,  the  hot  springs 


JOG 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


of  Arkansas,  those  on  the  St.  John  River  in  Florida,  or  those 
so  well  known  to  the  fashionable  public  in  Virginia.  These 
have  the  property  of  producing  a  peculiar  eruption  on  the 
skin,  if  syphilis  is  present ;  and  if  this  does  not  appear,  we 
may  be  very  certain  that  there  is  no  virus  in  the  system. 


How  to  Prevent  these  Diseases. 

What  we  have  said  of  the  extent,  the  virulence,  and  the 
calamitous  results  on  the  individual,  his  offspring,  and  the 
nation,  of  these  diseases,  must  evoke  in  every  mind  the 
earnest  desire  to  see  some  regulations  devised  and  carried 
out  which  will  limit,  and,  if  possible,  annihilate  this  destruc¬ 
tive  scourge.  The  nature  of  syphilis  leads  us  to  hope  for  this 
consummation.  It  is  strictly  contagious  in  nature,  trans¬ 
mitted,  that  is,  by  contact  only.  The  problem,  therefore, 
resolves  itself  simply  how  to  avoid  contact. 

Unquestionably  the  chief  though  by  no  means  the  only 
source  of  contagion  is  in  prostitution,  a  subject  therefore 
which  we  shall  shortly  proceed  to  consider  at  length. 

It  is  important,  however,  for  all  men  to  be  aware  of  the 
fact,  that  gonorrhoea  not  at  all  unfrequently  arises  from 
other  cause  beside  contagion.  Ignorance  of  this  has  within 
our  knowledge  led  to  cruel  accusations,  utter  disruption  of 
families,  and  untold  misery.  Dr.  Ricord  mentions  the  case 
of  a  young  man  who  even  committed  suicide,  because  he  was 
seized  with  this  disease  on  his  wedding  trip,  and  ignorantly 
concluded  that  his  bride  was  unchaste.  When  relations  are 
had  with  a  woman  who  suffers  from  an  acrid  discharge,  or  at 
the  time  of  her  monthly  illness,  or  when  the  indulgence  is 
excessive,  or  the  excitement  over-intense,  it  is  by  no  means 
unusual  for  the  male  to  have  as  the  result  an  inflammation 


MEANS  OF  PREVENTION.  107 

and  discharge,  which  are  quite  the  same  as  this  disease,  even 
being  communicable. 

A  very  recent  writer,  Prof.  A.  W.  Stein,  of  New  York, 
says  in  an  address  read  February,  1870,  before  the  New 
York  Medical  Journal  Association  :  “  It  cannot  be  too  often 
mentioned  that  gonorrhoea  is  not  always  the  result  of  illicit 
or  impure  intercourse.  It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that 
we  should  fully  appreciate  this  fact,  for  the  most  disastrous 
consequences  have  resulted  from  ignorance  of  it.”  All  writers 
are  agreed  that  the  conditions  we  have  mentioned  in  the 
female  may  give  rise  to  it. 

Such  causes,  therefore,  should  be  scrupulously  avoided ;  and 
also  we  should  be  not  over-apt  to  condemn  the  person,  male 
or  female,  who  thus  must  bear  the  suspicion  of  unchastity. 

Personal  Means  of  Prevention. 

Foreign  writers  have  spoken  much  of  the  means  for  the 
personal  prevention  of  diseases  of  this  character.  Very  mi¬ 
nute  directions  are  given,  and  certain  chemical  preservatives 
recommended,  by  the  application  of  which  immediately  after 
exposure,  the  virus  which  conveys  the  disease  is  neutralized, 
and  deprived  of  its  poisonous  properties.  Certain  mechani¬ 
cal  appliances  have  been  brought  before  the  professional 
public  by  American  surgeons  for  the  same  purpose,  and  their 
use  has  been  defended  by  the  well-known  surgeon,  Dr.  Bum- 
stead,  of  New  York,  on  the  ground  that  “  the  passions  alwTays 
will  control,  as  they  always  have  controlled,  the  moral  sense 
of  the  greater  part  of  man  and  womankind,  and  as  the  effects 
of  vice  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  guilty,  their  preven¬ 
tion  is  no  unworthy  subject  of  consideration.”  While  con¬ 
ceding  the  force  of  this  expression  of  so  eminent  a  teacher, 
we  still  fear  that  such  information,  if  given  publicly  and  pro- 
9 


108 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


miscuously,  might  tend  to  remove  one  of  the  barriers  which 
now  keep  men  in  the  path  of  rectitude.  We  therefore  be¬ 
lieve  such  instructions  should  be  kept  for  individual  instances, 
and  reserved  for  those  cases,  in  married  life,  where,  on  the 
one  hand,  an  abstinence  on  the  part  of  the  husband  might 
lead  to  bitter  feeling,  or  destruction  of  domestic  ties  from 
suspicion  and  jealousy;  and  on  the  other,  should  he  not  ab¬ 
stain,  he  might  involve  her  in  his  own  misfortune. 

They  are  also  justifiable  when  a  wife  has  a  discharge  of  the 
character  we  have  mentioned,  which  is  liable  to  produce  a 
disease  apparently  specific  in  character,  in  her  husband. 
Some  men  are  extremely  sensitive  to  any  exposure  of  this 
kind,  while  others  suffer  it  with  impunity. 

Instances  may  also  occur,  and,  to  our  knowledge,  do  occur, 
where  men  engaged  to  be  married,  and  the  day  fixed,  contract 
shortly  before  their  wedding  one  of  these  diseases.  A  thou¬ 
sand  social  reasons  combine  to  prevent  them  obtaining  a 
delay ;  they  are  often  not  aware  of  the  full  extent  of  the 
danger  to  which  they  will  expose  their  bride  and  their  child - 
ren ;  they  are  not  very  conscientious;  such  marriages  are 
often  for  policy  or  convenience,  and  they  marry.  If  they 
could  save  their  wives’  health,  they  would.  They  generally 
can,  and  it  is  the  least  that  can  be  asked  of  them  to  do  so. 

Yet  as  we  have  said,  with  these  contingencies  in  our  mind, 
we  have  not  felt  it  would  be  right  to  detail  the  means  recom¬ 
mended,  lest  we  should  in  some  degree  shear  of  its  proper 
terrors  illicit  intercourse. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to  on  these  topics. — Dr. 
Wm.  A.  Hammond,  On  Venereal  Diseases  ;  Wm.  Acton,  On  Pros¬ 
titution  ;  Durkee,  On  Gonorrhoea  and  Syphilis;  Dr.  Berkeley  Hill, 
On  Venereal  Diseases  ;  Barton,  Nature  and  Treatment  of  Syphilis  ; 
Colles,  On  Syphilis;  Cullerier,  Atlas  of  Venereal  Diseases  ;  Dr.  J. 
F.  Bumstead,  On  Venereal  Diseases;  Lancereaux,  Traiti  d«  la 


AUTHORITIES. 


109 


Syphilis,  Dr.  P.  Diday,  Nouvelles  Doctrines  sur  la  Syphilis ,  and 
Infantile  Syphilis;  Ricord,  Lettres  sur  la  Syphilis  ;  The  Westmin¬ 
ster  Review  for  July,  1869,  January  and  April,  1870;  Stein,  in 
New  York  Medical  Journal ;  and  numerous  monographs,  reports, 
discussions,  and  articles  in  the  recent  medical  periodicals.] 


THE  SOCIAL  EVIL. 


We  have  now  pointed  out  with  dispassionate  yet  earnest 
words  the  deplorable  consequences  of  misgoverned  sexual 
instinct  on  the  individual,  on  his  family,  on  his  children,  and 
through  these  on  society  and  the  race  at  large.  There  re¬ 
mains  for  us  to  turn  a  still  darker  page,  and  to  reveal  an 
abyss  of  misery,  iniquity,  and  disease,  from  which  the  philan¬ 
thropist  too  often  turns  away  with  a  shudder.  This  abyss  is 
'prostitution,  the  great  social  evil  of  our  day,  invading  all 
grades  of  society,  contaminating  with  leprous  touch  the  fairest 
of  our  land,  destroying  the  pure  joys  of  the  domestic  hearth, 
the  well-spring  of  disgusting  maladies,  the  inexhaustible 
source  of  all  manner  of  evil. 

Too  often  the  clergyman  and  the  statesman  prefer  to  shut 
their  eyes  and  shun  the  unpleasant  topic.  This  is  not  our 
purpose.  Such  a  course  can  command  no  admiration  and 
effect  no  good  result.  Rather  will  we  risk  the  charge  of 
over-plainness  of  speech  than  hesitate  to  exhibit  the  mature, 
the  extent,  and  the  consequences  of  this  infecting  ulcer  in 
the  body  politic  of  our  land.  Our  statements  are  based  on 
careful  studies  of  original  documents,  and  the  opinions  of 
those  physicians  and  philanthropists  who  have  devoted  most 
time  to  combating  this  pest.  We  shall  aim  to  exhibit  it  as 
it  actually  exists  in  our  midst,  choosing  the  most  trustworthy 
and  the  most  recent  sources  of  information,  and  premising 
that  all  our  statements  are  taken  directly  from  original 
authorities. 

( no) 


POLICE  REGISTRATION. 


Ill 


Prostitution  in  the  United  States. 

There  is  no  branch  of  social  science  that  offers  greater  dif¬ 
ficulties  to  the  investigator  than  that  which  concerns  itself 
with  the  number,  the  life,  the  fate,  and  the  condition  of  fallen 
women.  It  has  ever  been  so.  Thousands  of  years  ago  King 
Solomon  the  wise  said — 

•‘Lest  thou  shouldst  ponder  the  path  of  her  life,  her  ways 
are  movable,  that  thou  canst  not  know  them.”  (Proverbs 
v.  6.) 

The  great  majority  of  them  entirely  elude  the  searches  of 
the  police,  and  conceal  their  calling  under  some  outward 
garb  of  honest  occupation.  Before  we  proceed,  therefore,  to 
estimate  the  numbers  in  our  large  cities,  we  must  explain  the 
different  classes  in  which  they  are  divided. 

The  police  reports  of  our  great  cities  divide  them  into 
“public  prostitutes,”  “waiter-girls,”  and  “kept  women,”  or 
“private  mistresses.”  The  first  mentioned  alone  can,  for 
obvious  reasons,  be  known  as  such  to  the  police.  They  are 
those  who  ply  their  avocation  with  such  publicity  as  to 
become  familiar  to  the  agents  of  the  law.  Many  of  the 
mistresses  dress  as  well,  drive  as  elegant  equipages,  and 
behave  in  public  as  decorously  as  any  ladies.  The  “waiter- 
girls”  can  only  be  classed  as  to  character  according  to  the 
good  or  bad  reputation  of  the  refreshment  houses  where  they 
are  employed.  There  are  certain  saloons — Captain  Ken¬ 
nedy,  Superintendent  of  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Police, 
says  thirty-three  in  that  city  and  Brooklyn — in  which  the 
chief  business  is  licentiousness.  They  were  a  few  years  ago 
very  abundant  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  wretched  women  in  them 
were  known  locally  as  “beer  jerkers;”  but  the  excessively 
injurious  effects  of  such  establishments  became  so  notorious 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


;i2 

that  they  were  all  shut  up.  Only  the  lowi  st  class  oi 
women  are  found  in  such  dens. 

The  haunts  of  those  one  degree  above  tnese  gins  are  Known 
to  the  police  as  “  houses  of  prostitution  and  ranking  above 
these  again  in  the  observance  of  decorum  are  the  “  houses  of 
assignation.”  In  the  former,  the  inmates  either  go  forth  at 
night  to  seek  their  victims,  and  are  known  merely  as  “board¬ 
ers  or  they  remain  within,  and  await  chance  comers,  and 
are  then  called  “  parlor  boarders.”  The  mistress  of  the  house 
furnishes  room  and  board  to  her  inmates,  and  sometimes 
clothing,  for  which  articles  she  takes  care  to  Keep  them  in 
debt  to  her.  Liquor  of  the  vilest  manufacture  is  always 
kept  on  hand  at  extravagant  prices,  and  the  girls  are  forced 
by  threats  and  promises  to  urge  its  *ale.  (rambling  is  not 
uncommon,  and  “  panel  thieving”  im  carried  on  with  great 
adroitness  in  very  many  of  them. 

All  the  inmates  of  these  infamous  houses  bear  assumed 
names,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  constant  observation  how  “mova¬ 
ble”  they  are,  as  our  translation  of  the  Proverbs  has  it.  They 
go  from  house  to  house,  and  from  city  to  city,  driven  by  an 
aimless  restlessness.  They  are  of  all  nationalities,  Ameri¬ 
cans  and  Germans  predominating,  the  Celtic  race,  that  is, 
the  Scotch,  Welsh,  and  Irish,  being  in  the  minority,  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  general  population. 

What  is  surprising,  in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
probably  other  northern  cities,  there  are  houses  fitted  up  with 
considerable  expense  in  which  all  the  inmates  are  mixed, 
negro  and  white  blood,  quadroons  and  octoroons.  They  are 
patronized  exclusively  by  white  men. 

The  houses  of  assignation,  according  to  the  police  reports 
of  New  York,  are  yearly  on  the  increase,  while  the  houses 
of  prostitution  are  decreasing.  In  the  former,  the  proprie¬ 
tors  pretend  to  keep  no  boarders,  but  to  have  a  number  of 


NUMBER  OF  PROSTITUTES. 


1J3 


female  acquaintances,  who,  to  eke  out  a  scanty  income  or  for 
motives  of  pleasure  merely,  sell  tlieir  bodies.  This  story  in 
ninety-nine  cases  in  a  hundred  is  notoriously  false,  and  the 
Women  in  such  houses  are  as  often  common  street-walkers  as 
anything  else. 

With  these  explanations  in  mind,  we  shall  proceed  to 
estimate  the  magnitude  of  this  great  evil  in  some  of  our 
cities,  and  thus  show  the  imperative  importance,  in  a  hygienic 
as  well  as  a  purely  moral  view,  of  taking  some  measures  to 
curb  it.  According  to  the  police  reports  of  1869  there  are 
in  New  York  and  Brooklyn  496  houses  of  prostitution  and 
107  houses  of  assignation.  The  whole  number  of  women 
certainly  known  to  the  police  as  public  prostitutes  is  2107  ; 
but  various  competent  authorities  estimate  the  actual  num¬ 
ber  of  those  who  subsist  in  great  part  or  entirely  on  the 
wages  of  sin,  at  the  enormous  number  of  thirty  thousand. 

This  calculation,  allowing  for  difference  in  extent  and 
character  of  population,  agrees  closely  with  that  made  by 
the  Midnight  Mission  of  Philadelphia  in  the  same  year. 
The  officers  of  this  charity  are  of  opinion  that  there  are  not 
less  than  twelve  thousand  in  that  city. 

In  Cincinnati  a  municipal  law  orders  a  register  to  be  kept 
at  police  headquarters,  on  which  the  name  and  address  of 
every  well-ascertained  public  prostitute  are  inscribed.  In 
1869  the  number  so  registered  was  485  ;  which,  if  the  same 
proportion  of  public  to  private  prostitution  prevails  as  in 
New  York,  gives  for  the  total  number  of  fallen  women 
seven  thousand. 

But  Chicago  has  the  unenviable  notoriety  of  being  the 
city  in  the  United  States  where  this  degraded  class  is  most 
numerous.  Prof.  Edmond  Andrews,  M.  D.,  of  that  city,  esti¬ 
mated  that  in  1867  there  was  one  public  prostitute  to  230 
inhabitants,  or  more  than  twice  as  many  in  proportion  to 


114 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


the  population  as  in  New  York  city  or  Philadelphia,  and 
more  than  in  any  of  the  corrupt  capitals  of  the  Old  World, 
Paris  not  excepted! 

It  is  unnecessary  to  carry  this  dreadful  enumeration  any 
further.  We  have  said  enough  to  display  beyond  question 
the  appalling  extent  of  this  sin,  and  an  elaborate  discussion 
were  out  of  place  here. 

We  shall  next  proceed  to  describe 

Its  Effects  on  the  Woman. 

Dr.  Sanger,  a  physician  of  New  York,  who  has  had  favor* 
able  opportunities  for  investigation  in  that  city,  asserts  that 
the  whole  population  of  public  women  changes  once  in  four 
years ;  in  other  words,  that  every  year  one-fourth  of  them 
disappears,  and  are  replaced  by  fresh  accessions  to  the  fated 
crowd.  What  becomes  of  this  fourth  which  in  some  way 
vanishes  from  the  knowledge  of  the  police?  Dr.  Sanger  does 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  most  of  them  die.  Our  study  of 
the  subject  leads  us  to  doubt  this.  The  majority  either 
move  to  other  cities,  are  imprisoned,  become  private  mis¬ 
tresses  or  wives,  or  escape  to  a  life  of  honest  labor. 

It  may  astonish  some  to  hear  us  say  that  they  become 
wives.  But  this  is  not  very  unusual.  Sometimes  they  marry 
much  above  their  original  station  in  life.  We  positively 
know  that  out  of  one  class  which  graduated  at  a  leading 
Eastern  college  not  many  years  since  with  less  than  a  hun¬ 
dred  members,  three  have  married  women  whom  they  knew 
to  be  prostitutes.  Scions  of  some  of  the  most  respected 
families  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston  have  com¬ 
mitted  the  same  folly.  The  results  of  such  alliances  are  of 
course  disastrous  without  exception. 

Though  this  disposition  of  the  majority  we  believe  to  be 


THE  PATE  OF  THE  FALLEN. 


115 


true,  yet  a  large  minority  do  die.  If  one  considers  for  a 
moment  the  irregularities,  excesses,  and  exposures  to  which 
they  are  subjected,  he  cannot  doubt  this.  Many  of  them 
are  constantly  diseased  with  venereal  maladies ;  they  often 
drink  to  intoxication ;  they  are  exposed  to  inclement  weather 
with  insufficient  clothing ;  they  are  frequently  injured  in 
brutal  brothel  fights ;  they  are  neglected  when  sick.  Their 
chance  of  life  must  necessarily  be  greatly  lessened. 

But  this,  though  serious  enough,  is  by  no  means  the  worst 
effect.  It  is  the  almost  hopeless  moral  death  of  the  prosti¬ 
tute  which  is  the  darkest  result  of  her  mode  of  life.  The 
woman  who  once  loses  her  virtue  can  never  recover  her  self 
respect ;  but  she,  who  for  money  has  prostituted  her  body 
as  a  trade,  seems  to  lose  hold  of  all  moral  principle,  and 
even  natural  affection.  She  consorts  by  necessity  and  pre¬ 
ference  with  thieves,  gamblers,  and  the  vilest  classes  of  men. 
She  rarely  makes  the  effort  to  rid  herself  from  the  jaws  of 
death,  even  when  assistance  is  offered.  The  ancient  heathen 
wrote  over  the  doors  of  brothels:  Hie  habitat  voluptas, 
Here  pleasure  dwelleth ;  but  the  Christian  knows  that  a  far 
truer  inscription  were  that  which  Dante  says  is  written  over 
the  gates  of  hell : — 

“  Leave  eveiy  hope,  ye  who  enter  here.’* 

It  is  this  utter  demoralization  which  invests  with  such 
difficulty  every  attempt  to  redeem  these  creatures.  And  we 
must  look  it  squarely  in  the  face  in  all  our  schemes  for  reform. 

The  most  striking  exhibition  of  their  unnatural  debase- 
ment  is  the  almost  entire  lack  of  maternal  feeling  in  these 
women.  Their  avocation  by  its  constant  excitement  pre¬ 
vents  conception  as  a  rule,  and  this  is  a  beneficent  law  of 
nature.  For  the  wretched  offspring  of  such  mothers  couid 
hope  for  nothing  but  misery.  When  born,  the  infants  are 


116 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE, 


asually  sent  to  a  foundling  hospital,  or  to  a  “  baby  farming” 
establishment,  or  killed  outright.  The  latter  does  but 
anticipate  a  fate  almost  certain  at  the  hospital.  The  infant 
nortality  on  Ward’s  Island,  New  York,  is  over  90  per  cent. 
V'ery  nearly  all  die.  And  the  result  is  the  same  in  Boston, 
Philadelphia,  London,  and  Paris.  The  causes,  in  most  in¬ 
stances,  are  hereditary  syphilis  and  neglect. 


Its  Consequences  to  the  Man. 

In  speaking  of  the  effects  of  the  social  evil  on  women,  we 
have  been  repeating  common-places  which  every  reader 
knew  or  suspected.  But  there  remains  an  exhibit  of  its 
consequences  to  be  made,  which  is  often  lost  sight  of,  or  im¬ 
perfectly  apprehended ;  we  mean  its  effect  on  the  men  who 
support  it. 

This  is,  if  anything,  even  more  deplorable  than  on  the 
woman.  The  words  of  the  wise  king  are  every  whit  as  true 
now  as  they  ever  were,  and  we  would  that  ministers  of  the 
gospel  had  the  nerve  to  choose  them  oftener  as  a  text : — 

“  The  lips  of  a  strange  woman  drop  as  a  honey-comb,  and 
her  mouth  is  smoother  than  oil ; 

“  But  her  end  is  bitter  as  wormwood,  sharp  as  a  two- 
edged  sword ; 

“  Her  feet  go  down  to  death,  her  steps  take  hold  on  hell ; 

“  Remove  thy  way  far  from  her,  and  come  not  nigh  the  door 
of  her  house ; 

“  Lest  thou  give  thine  honor  unto  others,  and  thy  years 
unto  the  cruel ; 

“  Lest  strangers  be  filled  with  thy  wealth,  and  thy  labors 
be  in  the  house  of  a  stranger  ; 

“  And  thou  mourn  at  the  last  when  thy  flesh  and  thf  ^dv 
are  consumed.”  (Proverbs  v.) 


WHO  MAINTAIN  THIS  EVIL.  117 

“  Whoso  is  simple,  let  him  turn  in  hither :  and  as  for  him 
dhat  wanteth  understanding,  she  saith  to  him : 

“  Stolen  waters  are  sweet,  and  bread  eaten  in  secret  is 
pleasant ; 

“  But  he  knoweth  not  that  the  dead  are  there  ;  and  that 
her  guests  are  in  the  depths  of  hell.”  (Proverbs,  ix.) 

And  who  are  the  guests  ?  The  gambler,  the  thief,  the 
policy  dealer,  the  ruffian ;  and  with  these,  the  college  student, 
the  bank  clerk,  the  member  of  the  fashionable  club  ;  aye, 
and  also  the  father  of  the  family,  the  husband  of  a  pure  wife, 
the  head  of  the  firm,  the  member  of  church  ;  all  these,  every 
night,  in  all  our  great  cities.  Can  any  of  these  think  to 
escape  the  contamination  ?  Vain  chimera.  It  is  as  certain 
as  death.  If  nothing  else  remains,  the  moral  stain  is  in¬ 
delible.  As  the  poet  Burns  most  truly  says  : — 

“  It  hardens  a’  within, 

And  petrifies  the  feelings.” 

But  often  there  are  physical  consequences  more  immedi¬ 
ately  troublesome  than  this.  The  prevalence  of  contagious 
disease  among  these  women  is  shocking.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  one  in  three  or  four  is  suffering  under  some  communica¬ 
ble  form  of  them.  “  And  how  fearfully,”  exclaims  the  Kev. 
Dr.  Muhlenburg  in  his  sermon  on  the  Midnight  Mission,  “  is 
the  wrath  of  God  seen  in  these  physical  consequences  !  The 
most  loathsome  sight  which  the  diseased  human  body,  in  man 
or  woman  exhibits,  the  most  horridly  disgusting,  are  the 
living  corpses  in  which  victims  of  lust  are  putrefying  to  their 
graves.”  We  have  already  said  enough  on  this  point,  and 
we  pass  to  another. 

Besides  being  morally  degrading,  and  physically  dangerous, 
illicit  indulgence  is  pecuniarily  ruinous.  These  women  accus¬ 
tom  themselves  and  their  dupes  to  reckless  expenditure,  and 


118 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


of  course  they  sink  together  into  poverty.  Nor  let  the  shrewd 
and  cautions  business  man  think  himself  safe.  It  is  notorious 
that  a  large  class  of  these  women  are  kept  by  their  para¬ 
mours  exclusively  for  the  purpose  of  levying  black  mail. 
The  middle  aged,  respectable  married  man  is  allured  by 
some  decoy,  his  name  is  learned  from  his  clothing  or  by  the 
panel  thief  from  his  pocket  book,  he  is  tracked  to  his  home 
or  place  of  business,  his  history  and  family  connections  are 
hunted  up,  and  with  these  facts  at  his  command  the  unscru¬ 
pulous  pair  have  their  victim  in  a  net  which  he  dares  not 
break,  and  they  bleed  him  to  their  heart’s  content.  No  one 
not  intimately  acquainted  with  the  vices  of  our  great  cities 
can  have  any  idea  of  how  many  men  of  the  “  highest  respec¬ 
tability”  are  daily  suffering  the  torments  of  the  damned  from 
the  threats  and  extortions  of  such  villains. 

Let  this  public  exposition  be  a  warning  to  those  who  are 
tempted  by  the  woman  in  the  attire  of  a  harlot  and  subtle 
of  heart  who  says  : — 

“  Come,  let  us  take  our  fill  of  love  until  the  morning;  let 
us  solace  ourselves  with  loves. 

“  For  the  good  man  is  not  at  home,  he  is  gone  a  long 
journey. 

“  He  hath  taken  a  bag  of  money  with  him  and  will  come 
home  at  the  day  appointed.” 

If  he  yields,  he  will  soon  discover  that  the  snares  are 
spread  as  they  ever  were  for  those  void  of  understanding. 

The  Causes  that  Maintain  It. 

The  social  problem  we  are  considering  must  be  studied  in 
its  origin  in  order  to  prepare  any  method  for  its  solution. 
We  ask,  therefore,  what  is  it  leads  so  many  women,  usually 
almost  necessarily,  young,  healthy,  and  handsome — for  they 


THE  TEMPTATIONS. 


119 


must  be  all  these  to  ply  that  trade — to  open  or  secret  sin  ? 
Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  in  his  sermon  already  quoted,  answers 
thus :  “  Some  with  no  excuse,  others,  if  not  with  excuse,  yet 
with  palliations  either  in  their  bringing  up  apart  from  Chris¬ 
tian  influences,  and  amid  constant  exposure  to  temptation; 
or,  from  their  having  been  the  victims  of  seduction ;  or  from 
the  extremities  of  destitution ;  or,  allow  me  to  add,  in  a  fond¬ 
ness  for  finery,  copying  their  sisters  in  higher  life,  who,  by 
their  example  of  vain  show  in  dress,  have  more  to  answer  for 
in  this  matter  than  they  suspect.” 

It  is  popularly  supposed  among  men  that  in  the  greater 
number  of  cases  it  is  the  strong  passions,  the  insatiable  lusts 
of  these  women,  which  lead  them  to  take  up  this  mode  of 
life.  Such  an  opinion  displays  entire  ignorance  of  woman’s 
nature  and  facts.  It  is,  probably,  the  rarest  of  all  the  causes 
which  lead  to  \  iblic  unmoral  life.  It  is  true  that  many  of 
these  women  claim  and  pretend  to  exhibit  great  erotic  pas¬ 
sion,  but  this  is  nearly  always  fictitious,  adopted  as  an  attrac¬ 
tion,  merely  a  “  trick  of  the  trade.”  The  excessive  frequency 
with  which  they  indulge  blunts  their  sensibility  and  pre¬ 
cludes  the  possibility  of  much  real  feeling. 

Probably  the  most  common  and  fatal  temptation  to  young 
women  is  simply  money.  They  can  gain  more,  and  can,  con¬ 
sequently,  dress  finer,  live  more  idly,  and  fare  better  for  a 
while  by  this  than  by  any  other  means  at  their  command. 

Then  there  are  a  very  great  number  who  are  brought  up 
to  the  business.  The  Board  of  Health  of  the  Citizens’  Asso¬ 
ciation  of  New  York  estimate  there  are  at  least  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twelve  in  that 
city  who  are  subject  to  no  parental  control,  receive  no  in¬ 
struction  either  religious  or  secular,  and  are  constantly  ex¬ 
posed  to  the  corrupting  influences  of  a  hotbed  of  vice.  Ten 
years  later  they  become  a  vast  army  of  prostitutes  and  thieves. 


120 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


So  long  as  this  is  the  case,  it  were  indeed  vain  to  expect  the 
cessation  of  the  evil. 

Seduction  and  violence  are  constant,  but  not  the  most 
important,  sources  of  supply.  Country  girls  and  female 
immigrants  are  not  unfrequently  “  allured  to  boarding-houses 
where  scoundrels,  with  lying  promises,  or  with  lures  of  money, 
with  the  baits  of  vanity,  with  the  stupefying  cup,  or  with 
violence,  rifle  them  of  their  all,  and  leave  them,  lost  strangers 
in  a  strange  land,  for  other  harpies  to  devour”  (Rev.  Dr. 
Muhlenberg.)  It  is  notorious  to  those  familiar  with  the  vices 
of  our  cities  that  there  are  so-called  “employment  offices,” 
or  “  intelligence  offices,”  which  are  in  reality  snares  for  the 
unwary,  and  that  the  proprietor  (male  or  female)  is  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  house  of  ill-fame,  and  sends  to  such  places  those 
whom  he  thinks  will  be  entrapped. 

Opulent  satyrs,  cloyed  with  ordinary  means  of  vice,  and 
bent  on  provoking  exhausted  senses  with  novelty,  offer  large 
bids  for  youth  and  virtue;  stimulated  by  them,  a  class  of 
evil  old  women  make  it  their  business  to  be  on  the  watch  for 
giddy  and  vain  girls,  and  set  before  them  every  temptation 
to  forsake  the  path  of  chastity. 

From  these  various  sources  the  numbers  of  the  lost  are 
constantly  maintained  in  our  great  cities,  and  constantly  in¬ 
creased. 

Is  it  a  Necessary  Evil? 

Divines,  philosophers,  and  physicians  have  united  in  the 
expression  of  the  opinion  that  prostitution  is  a  necessary  evil, 
not  only  in  the  sense  that  it  is  unavoidable  by  any  known 
regulation,  but  that  it  is  necessary  to  the  interest,  even  to 
the  morality,  of  society  at  large.  St.  Augustine,  the  eminent 
father  of  the  Latin  church,  in  his  book  De  Ordine,  says : 
“  Suppress  prostitution,  and  you  will  plunge  society  into  liber- 


POSSIBLE  ADVANTAGES. 


121 


linage”  ( aufer  meretrices,  turbaveris  omnia  libidinibus). 
The  severe  Oato  recommended  that  young  men  should  visit 
the  brothels  when  their  passions  were  ardent,  so  that  they 
might  not  be  tempted  to  invade  the  sanctity  of  marriage. 

“  I  regard  prostitution,”  says  Mr.  Acton,  “  as  an  inevitable 
attendant  upon  civilized,  and  especially  closely  packed  popu¬ 
lation.  When  all  is  said  and  done,  it  is,  and  I  believe  ever 
will  be,  ineradicable.”  And  to  like  effect  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Muhlenberg,  of  New  York:  “The  ‘social  evil’  is  ever  in 
proportion  to  the  wealth  and  luxury  of  a  community.” 

Such  opinions  are  discouraging,  and  are  not  to  be  accepted 
as  the  solution  of  the  problem.  There  is  absolutely  no  moral 
evil  which  is  inseparably  connected  with  human  society. 
Herbert  Spencer,  in  his  “  Social  Statics,”  points  out  with 
lucid  and  logical  language  the  perfectibility  of  the  human 
species.  And  it  is  a  libel  on  man,  “  made  in  the  image  of 
God,”  to  say  that  there  is  any  crime,  especially  so  flagitious 
and  enormous  a  crime  as  this,  from  which  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  refrain.  Granted  that  our  efforts  to  escape  it  have 
hitherto  been  abortive ;  yet  there  is  no  cause  for  despair ;  we 
simply  have  not  set  about  it  right. 

The  doctrine  of  St.  Augustine  above  quoted  seems  to  us 
monstrous,  and  contrary  to  known  facts.  In  what  countries 
are  the  obligations  of  marriage  most  sacredly  respected  ?  Is 
it  in  those  where  brothels  are  most  abundant?  We  trow 
not.  Are  the  large  cities,  where  such  dens  are  located,  more 
conspicuous  for  marital  chastity,  than  the  rural  districts 
where  none  exist  ?  The  proposition  is  an  absurdity. 

In  examining  this  whole  subject  with  an  impartial  desire 
to  ascertain  the  exact  truth,  we  have  failed  to  find  a  single 
redeeming  feature  in  the  vice  of  prostitution,  without  it  be 
that  there  are  women  wretched  enough,  friendless  enough, 
desperate  enough,  to  be  forced  to  this  mode  of  life  to  escape 


122 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


starvation.  And  this  is  indeed  sorry  praise  to  give  it.  It 
only  gives  them  a  chance  to  sell  their  birthright  to  heaven 
for  a  mess  of  the  devil’s  pottage. 

The  opportunity  of  illicit  intercourse  never  protects  mar¬ 
riage.  Chastity,  not  allowed  sensuality,  is  the  safeguard  of 
the  household.  The  more  a  young  man  sees  of  abandoned 
women,  the  less  is  his  faith  in  woman  in  general,  and  the  more 
reckless  becomes  his  libertinism. 

How  can  it  be  Stopped? 

The  theories  which  have  been  propounded  for  the  abating 
of  this  formidable  and  hydra-headed  evil  have  been  numerous 
and  diverse.  We  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  examination 
of  a  few  which  have  been  brought  forward  within  the  past 
few  years. 

The  boldest  is  that  advocated  by  a  “  Christian  Philoso¬ 
pher”  in  a  work  published  in  1869,  called  “  Monogamy  and 
Polygamy  Compared.”  This  anonymous  writer  maintains 
that  Christian  precept  and  example  both  advocate  a  plu¬ 
rality  of  wives,  that  such  a  system  has  really  no  seriously 
objectionable  features,  and  that  by  absorbing  all  the  female 
population  into  the  married  state  it  effectually  kills  prostitu¬ 
tion  by  depriving  it  of  any  material.  This  theory  we  do  not 
deem  worthy  of  sober  attack. 

Valuable  for  its  practicality  is  the  plan  of  repression  sug¬ 
gested  by  Dr.  George  J.  Ziegler,  of  Philadelphia,  in  several 
medical  periodicals  in  1867.  He  urges  that  the  act  of  sexual 
connection  be,  ipso  facto,  the  solemnization  of  marriage,  and 
that  when  any  such  single  act  can  be  proven  against  an  un¬ 
married  man  by  an  unmarried  woman,  the  latter  be  at  once 
invested  with  all  the  legal  privileges  of  a  wife.  By  vesting 
this  power  in  the  woman,  no  man  would  risk  himself  in  the 


PLANS  OF  CURE. 


123 


company  of  a  dissolute,  scheming  girl,  who  might  force  him 
to  a  marriage,  and  ruin  him  for  life.  There  are  many  strong 
points  in  Dr.  Ziegler’s  article,  to  which  we  refer  our  readers 
for  full  particulars  (see  list  of  authors  at  the  close  of  this 
section).  The  strongest  objection  to  it  would  be  that  it 
would  considerably  increase  the  temptations  to  destroy  family 
purity,  married  women  being  the  only  ones  who  could  be 
approached  without  danger  of  being  forced  into  a  mis¬ 
alliance. 

Last  year  (1869)  Dr.  Charles  Drysdale,  of  London,  a  soci¬ 
ologist  of  eminence,  brought  forward  a  proposition  intended 
to  inflict  the  death-blow  on  prostitution  ;  it  consists,  to  give 
his  own  words,  in  a  general  determination  to  have  “  early 
marriages,  and  very  few  children  (indeed,  none  at  all,  per¬ 
haps,  as  in  France,  for  some  years),  and  greater  facility  for 
divorce,  as  obtains  at  present  in  Indiana,  and  some  other 
States  of  the  United  States.” 

We  question  very  much  whether  these  three  recommen¬ 
dations  would  not  have  the  very  contrary  effect  from  that 
desired.  We  have  made  considerable  inquiry  of  private 
individuals  from  the  States  of  our  Union  to  which  Dr.  Drys¬ 
dale  refers,  and  all  our  informants  seem  convinced  that  the 
facile  divorces  have  in  nowise  helped  the  morals  of  the 
community.  We  have  already  shown  that  precisely  in 
Chicago,  where  divorces  are  notoriously  easy  to  procure,  the 
number  of  prostitutes  in  proportion  to  the  population  is 
greater  than  in  Paris  itself.  How  premature  marriages, 
and  the  absence  of  the  endearing  ties  which  children  knit 
between  father  and  mother  could  increase  purity  of  thought 
and  chastity  of  life,  we  confess  ourselves  quite  unable  to 
perceive. 

The  fourth  method  suggested  is  based  upon  the  undoubted 
fact  that  it  is  money — which  may  stand  for  bread  and  butter, 


124 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


or  for  fine  clothes,  or  for  intellectual  gratification,  or  for  any 
of  the  numberless  pleasant  things  it  can  furnish  (among 
which  a  quiet  conscience  and  a  sound  body  are  not  included) — • 
money ,  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  is  the  real  tempter. 
Give  women,  say  the  reformers  of  this  school,  the  same  op- 
portunities  to  earn  their  living,  to  satisfy  their  tastes,  to 
make  money ,  as  men  have,  and  the  number  will  be  few,  who 
will  be  obliged,  or  who  will  care,  to  make  it  by  destroying 
their  reputations,  their  peace  of  mind,  and  their  bodily 
health. 

Finally,  there  are  those  who  believe  in  throwing  all  theories 
aside,  and  going  to  work  at  once  in  collecting  these  lost 
sheep  of  the  Master  into  mission  houses  and  halls,  in  setting 
forth  to  them  the  temporal  and  eternal  dangers  of  their  law¬ 
less  life,  in  providing  those  who  will  accept  with  remunerative 
labor,  and  situations  adequate  to  their  capacities,  and  in 
trying  upon  them  the  effects  of  sound  religious  instruction. 
Such  are  the  Midnight  Missions  which  have  been  established 
by  zealous  and  pious  Christians  in  most  of  our  cities ;  such 
the  Magdalen  asylums  supported  by  the  Protestant  denomi¬ 
nations  ;  and  such  the  “  Houses  of  the  Good  Shepherd,” 
organized  for  the  same  purpose  by  practical  Catholics. 

These  admirable  institutions  all  accomplish  a  good  work, 
although  in  comparison  with  the  magnitude  of  the  harvest, 
the  laborers  are  indeed  few.  We  have  attempted  to  form 
some  idea  of  their  actual  efficacy  by  examining  such  reports 
as  we  have  been  able  to  obtain.  From  these  it  appears  that 
the  Midnight  Missions  rescue  from  a  life  of  sin  nearly  three- 
fourths  of  those  who  enter  the  Homes ;  and  we  are  informed 
by  a  responsible  Catholic  authority  that  the  proportion  of 
the  saved  in  the  Houses  of  the  Good  Shepherd  are  between 
two-thirds  and  three-fourths.  But  satisfactory  as  this  is,  it 
is  discouraging  to  see  how  few  can  be  induced  to  enter  these 


LEGAL  REGULATIONS. 


125 


doors  of  escape  when  they  are  opened.  The  Midnight  Mis¬ 
sion  Home  in  Amity  Street,  New  York,  in  its  report  for  the 
year  1868,  shows  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  recep¬ 
tions;  though  it  is  true  that  these  excellent  charities,  like 
so  many  others,  are  sadly  cramped  for  want  of  means. 

Shall  it  be  Regulated  by  Law? 

In  mere  despair  at  discovering  any  means  of  entire  repres¬ 
sion,  and  very  properly  unwilling  to  shut  the  eyes  and  refuse 
to  see  this  hideous  and  advancing  tide  of  immorality  and 
disease,  many  governments  have  chosen  the  policy  of  recog¬ 
nizing  its  existence,  and  subjecting  it  to  such  regulations  as 
have  been  thought  best  devised  to  limit  its  growth,  and 
diminish  its  destructive  consequences. 

There  have  been  recently  published  several  very  elaborate 
discussions  concerning  the  success  of  these  plans  of  legisla¬ 
tion  as  they  are  carried  out  in  Europe.  In  general  terms, 
they  aim  to  have  the  name  and  residence  of  each  prostitute 
registered,  to  have  the  houses  licensed,  and  their  inmates 
subjected  at  certain  intervals  to  medical  examination.  Those 
found  diseased  are  at  once  sent  to  a  venereal  hospital,  where 
they  are  detained  until  cured.  In  Paris,  the  registered 
prostitutes  are  furnished  with  a  ticket,  giving  name  and 
residence,  and  this  they  are  obliged  to  carry  always  with 
them,  and  show  when  called  upon.  They  are  not  allowed  to 
accost  men  on  the  streets,  nor  to  employ  in  public  places 
any  of  the  wiles  of  harlotry.*  The  houses  ( maisons  de  toler¬ 
ance)  are  strictly  watched  by  the  police,  and  the  charges 
are  fixed,  and  posted  up  in  a  conspicuous  place.  These 
onerous  enactments  have  failed  on  account  of  their  strin¬ 
gency.  The  girls  are  subjected  to  so  much  surveillance 
that  they  seek  in  every  way  to  escape  from  public  into  pri- 


126 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


vate  walks  of  crime.  Consequently,  while  in  the  last  ten 
years,  the  number  of  registered  women  in  Paris  has  been 
steadily  decreasing,  the  number  of  private  prostitutes,  called 
grisettes,  lor ettes,  femmes  entretenues,  etc.,  have  vastly  and 
alarmingly  increased. 

The  contagious  diseases  act,  which  against  violent  opposi¬ 
tion  has  been  introduced  into  England  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  which  has  been  highly  praised  by  somet  and  as 
severely  condemned  by  others,  is  still  under  probation.  It 
provides  that  any  woman,  against  whom  an  informant  has 
deposed  that  he  has  reason  to  Believe  her  a  public  prostitute, 
may  be  summoned  by  the  superintendent  of  police,  and  be 
forced  to  submit  to  medical  inspection,  and  to  be  placed 
under  surveillance.  If  found  diseased,  she  is  ordered  to  a 
hospital,  where  she  is  obliged  to  remain  until  the  medical 
officer  pronounces  her  well.  It  has  been  justly  urged  against 
this  act  and  the  other  acts  associated  with  it,  that  they  en¬ 
croach  too  much  on  the  freedom  of  the  individual. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  been  very  shy  of  approach¬ 
ing  this  delicate  and  difficult  topic.  Our  legislators  imitate 
the  ostrich,  which,  when  it  wishes  to  escape  its  enemies,  is 
currently  reported  to  hide  its  head  in  the  sand,  thinking  that 
if  it  cannot  see  them  they  cannot  see  it.  The.  results  of 
this  policy  are  that  in  Chicago,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  all  our  largest  cities,  gross  vice  stalks  our  streets  with 
unblushing  tread,  the  strange  woman  lays  her  snare  for 
innocence  and  youth  at  every  street  corner,  disease  is  more 
common  and  more  deadly  than  in  any  regulated  European 
state,  and  the  proportion  of  prostitutes  rivals  that  of  any 
other  civilized  nation  in  the  world. 

It  is  quite  time,  therefore,  that  we  lay  aside  this  most 
mischievous  and  dangerous  modesty,  or  pretended  blindness, 
and  set  about  some  decisive  measures  if  not  to  purge  away, 


WIIAT  CAN  BE  DONE. 


121 


at  least  to  limit,  control,  and  render  as  powerless  as  possible 
this  infecting  ulcer.  Two  things  we  can  do :  we  can  prevent 
the  open  tempting  in  our  public  streets,  the  fearful  facility  of 
vice  which  now  prevails ;  and  we  can  limit  the  spread  of  conta¬ 
gious  disease.  For  the  former,  we  require  police  regulations, 
firmly  carried  out,  forbidding  the  accosting  of  men  on  the 
streets,  indecent  behavior  in  public,  and  immodest  dress. 
For  the  latter  we  must  have  periodical  medical  inspection 
of  prostitutes,  and  wards  or  hospitals  to  which  those  found 
diseased  can  be  sent  until  they  are  recovered. 

Here  are  two  distinct,  practical,  thoroughly  practicable 
aims  for  legislation,  and  every  one  who  has  the  good  of  his 
species  at  heart,  and  is  not  utterly  cankered  by  obsolete 
prejudice,  cannot  but  grant  their  urgent  importance  and 
great  value. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  the  French  surgeon,  Auzias-Tu- 
renne  and  his  disciples,  that,  so  far  as  syphilis  is  concerned, 
this  could  be  successfully  checked  by  the  process  known  as 
“syphilization.” 

This  method  is  based  on  the  theory  that  after  the  syphilitic 
poison  has  been  artificially  introduced  into  the  system  by 
repeated  puncturing,  the  individual  will  thereafter  be  pro¬ 
tected  against  it,  just  as  he  is  protected  against  smallpox  by 
the  practice  of  vaccination. 

A  number  of  experiments  have  been  carried  out  in  France, 
Italy,  and  Sweden,  with  this  view.  Necessarily  it  is  chiefly 
limited  to  public  prostitutes,  as  no  other  class  of  the  commu¬ 
nity  would  submit  to  such  an  ordeal.  Tt  was  hoped  that  by 
its  universal  adoption  public  women  would  be  made  incapable 
of  contracting,  and  hence  incapable  of  transmitting  this 
variety  of  venereal  poison. 

The  results,  though  still  somewhat  uncertain,  have  not 
equalled  these  anticipations.  While  unquestionably  the 


£28 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


process  does,  to  some  extent,  and  for  some  time,  materially 
lessen  the  liability  to  contract  the  disease,  it  does  so  un¬ 
equally  in  different  individuals,  and  the  protective  influence 
dies  out  after,  at  most,  a  few  years. 

Even  if  successful  it  would  be  difficult  of  application,  and 
its  effects  on  public  morals  are  open  to  question.  Therefore, 
we  may  dismiss  it  as  a  means  of  repression  too  visionary  to 
merit  serious  consideration. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  not  by  police  regulations,  nor  sanitary 
rules,  nor  legislative  enactments,  nor  even,  we  fear,  by  gather¬ 
ing  the  fallen  from  the  highways  and  byways  of  our  crowded 
cities  to  hear  the  gospel,  that  we  shall  ever  put  an  end  to 
the  social  evil.  We  have  been  casting  about  for  a  thousand 
devices  by  which  we  could  thrust  virtue  down  the  throats  of 
others,  while  ourselves  continue  our  cakes  and  ale  in  peace. 
W e  have  ever  been  ready  to  point  the  finger  of  shame  at  the 
erring  sister,  we  have  ever  been  eager  to  rush  forward  and 
cast  the  first  stone,  but  have  we  ever  pondered  for  a  moment 
on  the  words :  “  He  that  is  without  sin  among  you  ?” 

Ah !  here  we  touch  the  heart  of  the  matter.  Would  you 
learn  the  only  possible  method  of  reforming  sinful  women  ? 
Three  words  contain  the  secret :  Reform  the  men.  In  them, 
in  their  illicit  lusts,  in  their  misgoverned  passions,  in  their  self¬ 
ish  desires,  in  their  godless  disregard  of  duty,  in  their  ignorance 
of  the  wages  of  sin,  in  their  want  of  nobleness  to  resist  temp¬ 
tation,  in  their  false  notions  of  health,  is  the  source  of  all 
this  sin.  Teach  them  the  physiological  truth  that  chaste 
continence  is  man’s  best  state,  morally,  physically,  mentally; 
correct  the  seductive  error  which  talks  of  indulgence  as 
“natural,”  venial,  excusable;  show  them  that  man  is  only 
manful  when  he  sees  the  right  and  does  it;  train  them  to 
regard  self-government  as  the  noblest  achievement  of  all; 
educate  them  fearlessly  in  the  nature  and  regulation  of  those 


THE  TRUE  PLAN. 


129 


functions  which  pertain  to  the  relations  of  the  sexes ;  do  this, 
and  we  shall  soon  see  that  we  have  gained  a  vantage  ground 
over  against  which  the  powers  of  evil  cannot  stand. 

Every  great  social  reform  must  begin  with  the  male  sex ; 
theirs  it  is  to  take  the  step  in  advance,  and  they  must  do  it 
with  self-knowledge,  with  intelligence,  and  with  no  false  sen¬ 
timent.  Here,  especially,  they  must  act.  The  sin  is  wholly 
of  their  own  making.  All  the  misery,  all  the  lost  souls,  all 
the  blighting  consequences  present  and  to  come,  of  prostitu¬ 
tion,  are  chargeable  solely  and  wholly  to  the  uncontrolled 
sexual  instinct  of  the  male.  What  duty,  then,  is  more  im¬ 
perative  to  the  clergyman,  the  educator,  the  statesman,  the 
enlightened  philanthropist  anywhere,  than  to  study  this 
instinct,  to  learn  how  to  guide  it  in  youth  and  age,  and  how 
to  direct  it  in  its  natural  and  healthy  channels? 

[Authors  and  Works  on  Prostitution  referred  to. — Dr. 
Sanger,  History  of  Prostitution  ;  Dr.  J.  Jeannel,  He  la  Prostitution 
au  dix-nsuvieme  siecle  ;  Acton,  Prostitution  in  its  Moral,  Social, 
and  Sanitary  Aspects;  Parent-Duchatelet,  He  la  Prostitution  en 
Paris;  Dr.  Ed.  Andrews,  Letter  on  Prostitution,  Chicago  Medical 
Examiner,  Oct.  1867;  Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.  Muhlenberg,  Woman  and 
Her  Accusers,  a  Sermon  for  the  Midnight  Mission,  1869 ;  Dr. 
Ziegler,  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter,  1867;  Dr.  Charles  Drys- 
dale,  Medical  Press  and.  Circular,  May,  1869;  Westminster  Re¬ 
view,  Prostitution  and  Howto  Cure  It,  January  and  April-  1870; 
the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Superintendent  of  Police,  the  Boards  of 
Health,  and  the  Midnight  Missions  of  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati,  etc.,  for  1867-69.] 


PART  III. 


THE  MARRIED  LIFE. 

The  Preliminaries  of  Marriage. 

A  man  first  becomes  a  man  and  a  woman  a  woman  in 
marriage.  Only  when  united  by  that  mysterious  rite  does 
each  find  nature  satisfied,  and  all  the  faculties  and  functions 
meetly  exercised.  By  such  union  those  powers  which  are 
directed  without  the  individual,  those  strong  sentiments 
which  are  the  reverse  of  the  selfish  and  introverted  portions 
of  our  constitution,  are  called  into  action.  The  husband  and 
the  father  no  longer  labors  for  himself  alone,  no  longer  even 
principally  for  himself.  There  are  others  who,  he  feels,  have 
claims  upon  his  time,  his  thoughts,  his  possessions,  more  im¬ 
perative  even  than  himself.  He  first  provides  for  these,  and 
for  their  sakes  willingly  and  often  undergoes  deprivations 
and  self-denials.  To  the  philosopher  who  occupies  his  mind 
with  the  study  of  the  motives  of  men,  their  self-abnegation 
must  appear  at  once  one  of  the  most  singular  and  most  beau¬ 
tiful  traits  in  our  nature.  That  we  may  justly  appreciate 
the  rite  which  we  are  about  to  describe,  we  shall  first  speak 
of 


The  Meaning  of  Marriage. 

The  composite  character  of  the  nature  of  our  species  does 
uot  allow  us  to  answer  this  in  one  sentence.  We  are  formed 

(  131  ) 


132 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


of  organic,  terrestrial  bodies,  and  of  subtle  spirits.  To  the 
former  portion  of  our  nature,  marriage  is  the  condition  best 
adapted  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  species :  it  is  a  union  of 
two  persons  of  opposite  sexes  which  calls  into  play  the  pecu¬ 
liar  functions  of  each,  thus  furnishing  the  necessary  factors 
for  the  production  of  a  third  individual  of  the  same  sp  cies. 
The  physiologist  sees  this  and  nothing  more.  He  may  even 
dare  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  more. 

In  this  he  egregiously  errs.  Were  this  all,  it  would  have 
little  booted  the  legislators  of  all  time,  and  the  divine  voice 
itself,  to  have  enected  stringent  and  numerous  regulations 
having  reference  to  the  married  state.  Such  a  union  extends 
its  influence  throughout  the  whole  fabric  of  social  and  poli¬ 
tical  life,  and  strikes  its  roots  deep  into  the  moral  nature  of 
the  race.  If  we  are  asked  for  a  specific  definition,  we  have 
found  none  better  than  that  given  some  years  since  by  the 
Count  of  Portalis  in  the  French  legislative  body.  It  runs  as 
follows  :  “  Marriage  is  the  union  of  a  man  with  a  woman,  who 
associate  themselves  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  species,  to  aid 
each  other  by  mutual  assistance,  to  support  together  the 
chances  of  life,  and  to  endure  the  same  fate.”  In  this  clear 
and  practical  statement  we  perceive  precisely  what  every  one 
who  proposes  to  form  this  relation  should  feel  himself  or  her. 
self  thoroughly  prepared  to  assume. 

It  is  only  in  the  most  abject  members  of  the  human  race 
that  we  find  the  marriage  tie  almost  obliterated,  and  in 
none,  we  believe,  is  it  wholly  null.  There  are,  indeed,  tribes 
in  East  India  where  the  practice  of  polyandry,  or  of  one 
woman  having  several  husbands,  is  usual,  but  even  among 
these,  promiscuous  intercourse  is  prohibited.  The  rudest 
savages  respect  and  enforce  fidelity,  they  believe  that  adul¬ 
tery  is  a  crime,  and  hold  the  family  circle  to  be  sacred. 

In  proportion  as  morality  and  civilization  advance,  so 


DIGNITY  OP  MARRIAGE. 


133 


lo  the  sanctity  of  marriage,  and  the  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  of  marital  chastity.  The  Roman  Catholic  and  Greek 
churches  consider  the  rite  one  of  the  holy  sacraments  of  the 
church,  and  the  apostles  and  the  early  fathers  of  the  church 
unanimously  refer  to  the  married  condition  as  honorable, 
pure,  and  praiseworthy;  while  no  denunciations  were  too 
scathing  for  those  lewd  men  and  women  who  seek  to  degrade 
it  by  violating  its  ordinances.  Just  in  proportion  as  such 
elevated  sentiments  as  these  are  abroad  in  a  community, 
just  in  proportion  as  love  is  pure,  marriage  honored,  and 
the  bed  undefiled,  will  all  the  other  Christian  and  patriotic 
virtues  be  admired  and  practised.  And  no  more  ominous 
sign  of  decay  and  deep  corruption  in  a  nation  can  oe  seen, 
than  when  there  is  a  wide-spread  aversion  to  marriage,  an 
oft-repeated  sneer  at  the  happiness  it  brings,  a  current  doubt 
as  to  the  fidelity  of  those  who  are  united  in  its  bonds. 

We  believe  and  hope  that  perhaps  excepting  one  or  two 
of  our  largest  and  most  profligate  cities  such  a  state  of 
thought  does  not  exist  in  our  land.  Most  young  persons  of 
both  sexes  look  forward  to  marriage  as  a  desirable  condi¬ 
tion,  and  when  they  have  entered  it,  they  accept  cheerfully 
its  burdens,  observe  honorably  its  injunctions,  and  are  far 
happier  than  if  they  had  remained  single.  Few  matters 
give  more  anxiety  than  the  fear  that  for  some  reason  this 
favored  condition  may  never  be  reached,  that  some  disability 
exists  which  disqualifies  one  from  its  acceptance.  This  is 
not  unfrequently  a  fruitful  source  of  disquietude  to  young 
men,  and  therefore  we  deem  it  well  to  discuss  here  the 

Physical  Fitness  and  Unfitness  for  Marriage. 

The  physiological  and  also  the  legal  understanding  of 
marriage  is,  that  it  is  a  union  for  the  purpose  of  offspring. 


i34 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Therefore  both  the  lawyer  and  the  physician  must  condemn 
any  marriage  in  which  this  purpose  is  not  at  all,  or  only  im 
perfectly  carried  out.  In  other  words,  virility  is  a  necessary 
preliminary  to  marriage.  Not  merely  should  the  age  of 
puberty  be  passed,  but  the  whole  body  should  be  so  de¬ 
veloped,  and  the  special  functions  so  matured,  that  inter¬ 
course  may  not  prove  injurious  to  the  male,  nor  his  unripe 
secretion  be  unequal  to  the  formation  of  a  healthy  child. 

Impotence,  we  shall  speak  of  hereafter,  but  here  we  insist 
on  virility.  Marriage  works  sure  and  irreparable  injuries 
on  the  constitution  of  boys  or  very  young  men.  Their  lives 
are  shortened,  their  health  enfeebled,  their  mental  powers 
frequently  impaired.  Then  their  children  are  usually  puny 
and  sick1;/,  apt  to  have  hereditary  weakness,  and  not  to  at¬ 
tain  advanced  years. 

The  most  advisable  age  to  marry  has  been  much  discussed 
by  writers  in  all  ages.  We  shall  not  repeat  their  conflicting 
opinions,  many  of  them  purely  theoretical,  but  say  at  once 
that  in  this  country  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  full  stature 
and  complete  development  of  physical  powers  are  not  at¬ 
tained  before  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  that  from 
that  to  thirty-five  is  the  decade  in  which  a  man  may  the 
most  suitably  seek  a  wife. 

Physicians  are  not  unfrequently  appealed  to  on  the  ques¬ 
tion  whether  a  person  of  feeble  constitution  will  be  benefited 
or  injured  by  marriage.  Many  families  have  hereditary 
taints,  and  not  a  few  young  men  through  misfortune  or  temp¬ 
tation  have  incurred  maladies  which  they  fear  may  be  aggra¬ 
vated  by  the  novel  relations  under  which  they  will  be  placed, 
or  possibly  transmitted  in  some  form  to  their  offspring. 

So  far  as  such  inquiries  relate  to  those  diseases  which  ordi¬ 
narily  arise  from  impure  intercourse  we  have  already  replied 
to  them  in  the  previous  portion  of  this  work.  In  cases  of  a 


DANGER  OF  DELAY. 


135 


consumptive,  a  scrofulous,  or  an  insane  tendency,  ibis  proba¬ 
ble  that  a  predisposition  to  such  weakness  will  be  passed 
down,  and  quite  certain  that  they  will,  should  a  like  ten¬ 
dency  exist  in  the  wife.  But  it  is  not  likely  that  any  of 
these  diseases  will  be  aggravated  or  hastened  by  marriage ; 
on  the  contrary,  very  many  facts  could  readily  be  adduced 
to  show  that  in  both  sexes,  providing  that  the  other  partner 
has  not  the  same  tendency,  such  constitutional  disorders  are 
decidedly  mitigated  and  often  altogether  avoided  by  a  union. 
The  exercise  of  the  generative  functions  in  marriage  has  a 
powerful  derivative  effect,  and  not  rarely  alters  for  the  better 
a  feeble  constitution.  Epilepsy,  nervous  depression,  and 
even  occasional  insanity  have  been  known  to  be  greatly 
relieved  or  removed  by  a  judicious  union. 

When,  however,  such  debility  arises  from  a  progressive 
and  natural  decay  of  the  body — in  other  words,  when  it  is 
the  consequence  of  advancing  age — the  very  worst  results 
may  be  apprehended  from  such  a  step.  There  are  matrimo¬ 
nial  engagements  occasionally  contracted  by  elderly  men 
which  are  eminently  satisfactory  both  physically  and  men¬ 
tally.  But  in  such  instances  the  man  must  be  healthy  and 
vigorous,  or  else,  like  King  David,  he  must  content  himself 
with  the  proximity  alone  of  her  who  is  his  partner  in  life, 
otherwise  he  will  soon  fall  a  victim  to  some  serious  disease. 
Dr.  Reich,  in  his  learned  work  on  the  Degeneration  of  the 
Human  Race,  finds  an  active  cause  of  the  increasing  number 
of  diseases  and  weakened  muscles  of  our  generation  in  the 
growing  tendency  now-a-days  to  postpone  marriage  until 
time  and  perhaps  indulgence  have  diminished  the  forces,  and 
exposed  the  system  to  succumb  readily  to  any  unusual  drain 
upon  its  resources.  Therefore,  after  the  age  of  thirty-five,  a 
man  in  poor  health,  or  with  an  obvious  tendency  to  disease. 


136 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


should  be  extremely  cautious  how  he  contracts  a  lien  of  this 
nature. 

Malformations  of  various  kinds,  whether  by  nature  or 
accident,  not  unfrequently  occasion  poignant  distress  of  mind 
lest  they  constitute  an  insuperable  barrier  to  matrimony. 
Generally,  such  anxiety  is  unfounded.  A  diminished  or  au 
excessive  growth  of  the  parts  rarely  is  carried  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  constitute  a  barrier  to  intercourse.  The  absence 
of  one  or  even  both  of  the  testicles  may  arise  from  the  fact 
that  they  have  never  descended  from  the  interior  of  the  ab¬ 
domen,  where  they  are  always  located  before  birth.  This 
retention  of  their  original  position  does  not  necessarily  inter¬ 
fere  with  their  functions,  however.  Sometimes  the  prepuce  is 
long,  thick,  and  adherent  to  such  a  degree  that  it  seriously 
interferes  with  the  exercise  of  the  function.  In  such  cases  it 
should  be  submitted  to  the  examination  of  a  surgeon,  as  an 
operation  may  be  required.  A  more  rare  condition  is  when 
the  orifice  of  exit  is  not  at  the  extremity,  but  on  the  side  or 
close  to  the  body.  This  usually  does  not  prevent  connec¬ 
tion,  but  does  produce  sterility.  It,  too,  can  often  be  re¬ 
moved  by  a  skilful  surgeon. 

The  size  of  the  organ  sometimes  excites  fear  lest  matri¬ 
mony  could  not  be  completed.  But  there  is  no  permanent 
proportion  between  size  and  vigor.  Generally  an  unusual 
size  is  accompanied  with  debility,  and  it  is  not  infrequently 
observed,  indeed  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  rule,  that  persons 
of  vigorous  powers  have  small  but  well-shaped  parts.  Those 
who  have  studied  the  models  of  classical  antiquity  will  have 
noticed  that  the  most  perfect  representations  of  manly 
strength  present  these  parts  even  unusally  small.  The  negro 
race  have  the  parts  larger  than  the  white,  but  they  do  not 
proportionately  increase  in  size  on  erection.  A  small  and 
shrivelled  condition  in  either  race  is  a  sign  of  impotence. 


WHOM  TO  MARRY. 


137 


The  Choice  of  a  Wife. 

Although  the  boy  Cupid  is  notoriously  blind,  and  shoots 
his  arrows  wildly,  yet  it  is  not  amiss  for  the  prudent  man  to 
take  such  an  important  step  as  marriage  with  his  eyes  open. 
A  vast  amount  of  domestic  infelicity,  and  a  vast  amount  of 
social  vice,  which  is  the  consequence  of  this  infelicity,  would 
be  saved  were  people  a  little  more  discreet  and  sensible  in 
their  selection  of  those  with  whom  they  propose  to  join  irre¬ 
trievably  their  lives  and  fortunes.  So  far  as  mental  and 
moral  qualities  are  concerned,  we  shall  have  little  to  say, 
others,  and  they  better  qualified  than  ourselves,  having  given 
abundant  advice  on  these  topics,  but  in  what  relates  to  the 
physical,  we  have  some  hints  to  offer,  which,  if  observed, 
will  go  far  to  insure  a  fortunate  alliance. 

The  young  man  who  goes  forth  in  search  of  a  wife  should 
not  overlook  health,  nor  undervalue  beauty  in  the  woman  he 
seeks.  Without  Ihc  former,  3  will  lose  half  the  pleasure 
which  otherwise  would  be  Ms  t;  with  the  latter,  the  at¬ 
tractions  which  bind  him  true  to  his  own  hearth  will  be 
redoubled.  A  sickly,  nervous,  peevish,  inefficient  wife — • 
qualities  which  are  naturally  associated — is  not  a  help-meet, 
but  a  dead  weight  to  a  man ;  a  homely,  or  even  an  indif- 
erent-looking  woman  runs  a  risk  of  being  slatternly,  of  dis¬ 
gusting  her  husband,  and  of  alienating  him.  The  powers 
and  the  charms  of  personal  beauty  deserve  to  be  appreciated 
and  applauded  far  more  than  iz  the  vont,  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  real  beauty  means  also  sound  health,  we 
cannot  hesitate  to  answer  the  young  man  who  asks  us  depre- 
catingly,  “Would  you  have  me  marry  for  beauty?'’  with  a 
round  affirmation:  “You  probably  cannot  do  better." 

The  relative  ages  of  the  two  should  be  thought  of.  No 
young  woman  should  marry  before  she  is  twenty,  and  it  is 


/38 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


not  wise  for  a  man  to  select  a  wife  who  is  his  elder.  Such 
unions  usually  result  in  estrangement.  A  seniority  of  be- 
tween  five  and  ten  years  on  the  part  of  the  husband  is  most 
highly  to  be  recommended. 

A  writer  whom  we  have  already  quoted,  says:  “I  think 
there  should  always  be  an  interval  of  about  ten  years  be¬ 
tween  a  man  of  mature  age  and  his  wife.  Women  age  much 
more  rapidly  than  men,  and  as  the  peculiar  functions  of 
matrimony  should  cease  in  both  parties  about  the  same  time, 
such  interval  as  this  is  evidently  desirable.”  But  we  are 
of  opinion  that  a  difference  of  less  than  ten  years  is  more 
suitable.  As  above  remarked,  from  five  to  ten  years  may 
be  taken  as  the  limit. 

It  is  also  well  to  be  aware  of  the  fact  that  when  the  hus¬ 
band  is  the  elder,  the  children  are  more  likely  to  have  a 
majority  in  the  male  sex.  Why  this  is,  we  shall  have  occa¬ 
sion  to  explain  subsequently.  Then,  too,  man  retains  his 
powers  and  passions  longer  than  woman,  and  his  fidelity  is 
more  assured  when  she  is  fresh  and  blooming,  than  when 
she  has  already  become  old  while  he  retains  his  vigor. 
These  are  low  motives,  it  may  be  said,  but  they  are  such  as 
we  know  influence  our  sex  powerfully,  and  we  must  there¬ 
fore  enlist  them  on  the  good  side. 

Marrying  Cousins. 

The  question  whether  intermarriage  of  near  relatives 
can  be  approved  is  one  which  within  the  last  few  years  has 
excited  lively  discussion  among  physicians.  The  most  skilful 
are  found  on  opposite  sides,  and  the  arguments  adduced 
against  it  seem  very  strong.  While  granting  this,  we  must 
express  our  own  views  candidly  that  they  only  seem  strong, 
and  that  if  closely  scrutinized  they  are  found  to  be  based 


MARRIAGE  OF  COUSINS. 


139 


on  erroneous  statistics,  and  compiled  by  persons  who  are 
prejudiced  already  in  favor  of  their  own  views. 

In  a  similar  work  to  the  present,  addressed,  however,  to 
the  other  &ex,  we  made  use  of  the  following  language,  which 
exposed  us  to  severe  criticism  from  several  eminent  statis¬ 
ticians  and  medical  writers  :  “  The  fear  of  marrying  a  cousin, 
even  a  first  cousin,  is  entirely  groundless,  provided  there  is 
no  decided  hereditary  taint  in  the  family.  And  when 
such  a  hereditary  taint  does  exist,  the  danger  is  not  greater 
than  in  marrying  into  any  other  family  where  it  is  also  found. 
But  as  few  families  are  wholly  without  some  lurking  predis¬ 
position  to  disease,  it  is  not  well,  as  a  rule,  to  run  the  risk 
of  developing  this  by  too  repeated  unions.” 

Decided  as  this  language  is,  our  further  investigations 
since  we  made  use  of  it  do  not  lead  us  to  weaken  its  force. 
On  the  contrary,  we  find  ourselves  supported  in  it  by  one  of 
the  m-st  cautious  and  dependable  authorities  in  the  medical 
world,  the  Lancet  of  London.  In  the  editorial  columns  of 
a  late  number  of  that  journal  the  following  statement  is  made 
as  the  result  of  the  most  recent  and  extended  researches  on 
that  point : — 

“  The  marriage  of  cousins,  providing  both  are  hdtolthy, 
has  no  tendency  to  produce  disease  in  the  offspring.  If,  how¬ 
ever,  the  cousins  inherit  the  disease  or  the  proclivity  to  it  of 
their  common  ancestor,  their  children  will  have  a  strong  ten¬ 
dency  to  that  disease,  which  might  be  fostered  or  suppressed 
by  circumstances.  There  can  be  no  question  that  cousins 
descended  from  an  insane  or  highly  consumptive  grand-parent 
should  not  intermarry ;  but  we  cannot  see  any  reason  for 
supposing  that  either  insanity  or  consumption  would  result 
from  the  intermarriage  of  healthy  cousins.” 

In  conclusion,  while  for  a  man  to  marry  a  near  relative 
when  they  both  belong  to  a  consumptive,  a  scrofulous,  or  a 

n 


140 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


weak-minded  race,  is  eminently  reprehensible,  it  is  not  con* 
trary  to  ascertained  laws  for  him  to  unite  himself  to  his 
cousin  when  the  family  is  thoroughly  healthy. 

Long  Engagements, 

“  Plighted  troth”  is  a  poetical  and  romantic  subject,  but 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  carrying  a  prolonged  fidelity  under 
the  terms  of  an  “  engagement”  to  a  dangerous  excess.  We 
do  not  now  refer  to  the  moral  perils,  the  increased  tempta¬ 
tions  which  arise  from  the  more  intimate  familiarity  and  over- 
confidence  of  lovers — though  these  are  real  and  objectionable 
— but  to  the  direct  injury  they  bring  on  a  young  man.  It  is 
impossible  for  him  to  indulge  in  these  caresses  and  fondlings 
without  violently  exciting  his  passions,  and  they  in  turn 
react  on  the  secretory  functions.  The  consequence  is  that 
not  unfrequently  repeated  nocturnal  emissions,  spermator¬ 
rhoea,  and  loss  or  impairment  of  power  result.  At  the  very 
moment  when  he  should  be  in  full  possession  of  his  strength, 
he  finds  that  hope  too  long  deferred,  balks  itself.  This  cau¬ 
tion  is  especially  needed  by  those  who  at  an  earlier  period  of 
their  life  have  injured  themselves  by  solitary  vice  or  sexual 
excess. 

There  are  strong  physical  as  well  as  moral  reasons  why 
we  would  urge  the  lover,  however,  unwelcome  such  advice, 
and  however  certain  to  be  disregarded,  to  hold  his  loved 
one  at  arm’s  length,  and  to  deny  himself  those  little  fondlings 
and  toyings  which  he  can  secure.  Innocent  though  they 
are,  and  pure  as  the  affection  is,  they  still  cheat  nature  with 
unfulfilled  promises,  and  bring  with  them  retribution.  The 
advice  of  that  distinguished  surgeon,  Mr.  William  Acton,  on 
this  point,  is  forcible.  He  says :  “  All  medical  experience 
proves  that  for  any  one,  especially  a  young  man,  to  enter 


A  CAUSE  OF  TROUBLE. 


141 


into  a  long  engagement  without  any  immediate  hope  of  ful¬ 
filling  it,  is  physically,  an  almost  unmitigated  evil.  I  have 
reason  to  know  that  this  condition  of  constant  excitement 
has  often  caused  not  only  dangerously  frequent  and  long- 
continued  nocturnal  emissions,  but  most  painful  affections  of 
the  testes.  These  results  sometimes  follow  the  progress  of 
an  ordinary  two  or  three  months’  courtship  to  an  alarming 
extent.  The  danger  and  distress  may  be  much  more  serious 
when  the  marriage  is  postponed  for  years.”  Instances  of  the 
same  kind  have  come  under  our  own  e  sperience,  and  con¬ 
vince  us  that  even  such  strong  langua^  e  as  that  we  have 
just  quoted,  does  not  state  the  possible  injury  too  decidedly. 

The  Male  Flirt. 

The  evils  we  have  just  mentioned  find  their  origin  in 
ungratified  sexual  excitement.  This  is  always  sure  to  be 
attended,  if  frequently  repeated  and  long-continued,  by  in¬ 
jurious  consequences.  Whether  it  be  from  an  engagement, 
from  disappointed  affection,  from  too  great  familiarity  with 
the  other  sex,  or  from  entertaining  lascivious  thoughts,  any 
such  excitement  leads  to  weakening  of  power,  and  sometimes 
to  actual  disease.  Degeneration  or  chronic  inflammation  of 
the  gland,  spermatorrhoea,  emissions,  and  impotence,  are  all 
possible  from  neglect  of  hygienic  rules  in  this  regard. 

Here,  therefore,  is  a  reason — one  of  many — why  we  should 
discountenance  the  disposition  among  young  men  to  become 
the  heroes  of  half  a  dozen  engagements  and  love  passages. 
In  so  doing  they  violate  social  laws,  trifle  with  the  best 
affections  of  our  nature,  give  others  endless  anguish,  and 
also  run  the  chance  of  hurting  themselves  for  life. 

The  society  of  refined  and  pure  women  is  one  of  the 
strongest  safeguards  which  a  young  man  can  have,  and  lie 


142 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


does  well  when  he  seeks  it ;  but  it  should  always  be  motives 
of  simple  friendship  and  kindly  interest  which  impel  him  to 
cultivate  it.  When  he  considers  that  the  time  has  come  that 
his  means  and  circumstances  allow  of  marriage,  he  should 
then  look  intelligently  for  her  with  whom  he  would  care  to 
pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  perfect  loyalty.  He  should 
be  impelled  by  no  wanton  impulse,  nor  dissipate  his  time  in 
worshipping  at  every  passing  shrine,  but  in  sincerity  and 
singleness  of  heart  seek  an  early  alliance  with  her  to  whom 
he  is  ready  to  swear  to  be  ever  true. 

For  every  man  does  well  to  reflect,  before  he  assumes  the 
vow,  on 


The  Paramount  Duty  of  Fidelity, 

which  every  husband  owes  his  wife,  quite  as  much  as  every 
wife  owes  her  husband.  The  lax  morality  of  society  excuses 
in  the  oi.o  what  it  unequivocally  condemns  in  the  other,  but 
the  Christian  and  the  physiologist  agree  in  allowing  no  ex¬ 
cuse  for  either. 

Nothing  is  more  certain  to  undermine  domestic  felicity, 
and  sap  the  foundation  of  marital  happiness,  than  marital 
infidelity.  The  risks  of  disease  which  a  married  man  runs  in 
impure  intercourse  are  far  more  serious,  because  they  involve 
not  only  himself,  but  his  wife  and  his  children.  He  should 
know  that  there  is  nothing  which  a  woman  will  not  forgive 
sooner  than  such  a  breach  of  confidence.  He  is  exposed  to 
the  plots,  and  is  pretty  certain  sooner  or  later  to  fall  into  the 
snares,  of  those  atrocious  parties  wrho  subsist  on  black-mail. 
And  should  he  escape  these  complications,  he  still  must  lose 
self-respect,  and  carry  about  with  him  the  burden  of  a  guilty 
conscience  and  a  broken  vow.  If  we  have  urged  on  the  celi- 


BE  FAITHFUL. 


143 


bate  the  preservation  of  chastity,  we  still  more  emphatically 
call  upon  the  married  man  for  the  observation  of  fidelity. 

[Authors  referred  to  in  this  section. — Edward  Reich,  Ge- 
schirhte,  Natitr-,  und  Gesundtheitslehre  des  ehelichen  Lebens  ;  Na- 
pheys,  The  Physical  Life  of  Womai  ,  Acton,  On  the  Reproductive 
Organs;  Reich,  Ueber  die  Entartung  des  mensch lichen  Geschlechis, 
A.  Debay,  Hygiene  du  Mariage .] 


THE  CONSUMMATION  OF  MARRIAGE. 


Its  Signification. 

In  both  law  and  medicine  the  prime  object  of  marriage 
regarded  from  a  social  point  of  view,  is  the  continuation  of 
the  .species.  Hence,  until  the  preliminary  steps  to  this  end 
are  taken,  the  marriage  is  said  not  to  be  consummated.  The 
precise  meaning  of  the  expression  is  thus  laid  down  by  Bou- 
vier  in  his  Law  Dictionary :  “  The  first  time  that  the  husband 
and  wife  cohabit  together  after  the  ceremony  of  marriage 
has  been  performed,  is  called  the  consummation  of  marriage.” 
A  marriage,  however,  is  complete  without  this  in  the  eye  of 
the  law,  ae  it  is  a  maxim  taken  from  the  Roman  civil  statutes 
that  consent,  not  cohabitation,  is  the  binding  element  in  the 
ceremony ;  consensus ,  non  concubitus ,  facit  nuptias. 

A  sage  morality  throughout  most  civilized  lands  prohibits 
any  anticipation  of  the  act  until  the  civil  officer  or  the  priest 
has  performed  the  rite.  The  experience  of  the  world  proves 
the  wisdom  of  this,  for  any  relaxation  of  the  laws  of  propriety 
in  this  respect  are  fraught,  not  only  with  injury  to  society, 
but  with  loss  of  self-respect  to  the  individual.  Those  couples 
who  under  any  plea  whatever,  be  it  of  the  nearness  of  the 
dav  or  the  imagined  veniality  of  the  liberty,  allow  themselves 
to  transgress  this  rule,  very  surely  lay  up  for  themselves  a 
want  of  confidence  in  each  other,  and  a  source  of  mutual  re¬ 
crimination  in  the  future. 

True  as  this  is  shown  to  be  by  constant  experience,  yet 
l  144  ) 


HISTORICAL  EXAMPLES. 


145 


there  have  been  and  still  are  communities  in  which  the  cus¬ 
tom  was  current  of  allowing  and  even  encouraging  such  im¬ 
proper  intimacies.  In  the  early  middle  ages  it  was  common 
in  all  grades  of  society,  and  is  mentioned  as  leading  to  disso¬ 
lute  habits  and  consequently  condemned,  in  the  laws  of  King 
Charlemagne,  known  as  the  Capitularies. 

The  Emperor,  Frederick  III.  of  Austria,  after  he  was 
affianced  to  Leonora,  Princess  of  Portugal  by  diplomatic 
envoys,  refused  to  complete  the  marriage  unless  he  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  first  ascertain  whether  she  would  prove  a  satisfac¬ 
tory  wife.  And  that  the  same  rights  were  occasionally 
insisted  upon  by  the  other  sex  is  shown  by  the  example  of 
the  Lady  Herzland  von  Eappoltstein,  who,  in  1378,  declined 
to  carry  out  her  agreement  to  wed  Count  John  IY.  of  Habs- 
burg,  on  the  ground  that,  after  opportunities  given,  he  had 
proved  himself  to  be  incapable. 

There  are  still  remote  districts  in  Germany  where  the  pea¬ 
santry  retain  the  institution  known  as  “  trial-nights/’  probe - 
ndchte,  and  “  come-nights,”  komm-nachte,  on  which  a  girl’s 
lover  will  visit  her,  and  each  may  be  convinced  of  the  phy¬ 
sical  fitness  of  the  other  for  marriage.  A  century  ago  a 
similar  custom  prevailed  in  parts  of  New  England  and  in 
the  German  settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  as  has  been  lately 
shown  by  Dr.  Henry  A.  Stiles,  of  Brooklyn,  in  his  work  on 
Bundling ,  by  which  term  it  was  known.  Washington  Irving, 
in  his  Knickerbocker  History  of  New  York ,  several  times 
refers  to  it  also. 

Now,  we  believe,  happily  no  trace  of  the  habit  exists  in 
our  land.  Only  in  a  singularly  simple  and  unsophisticated 
state  of  society  could  it  be  perpetuated  without  leading  to 
flagitious  immorality,  and  we  may  regard  it  as  one  of  the 
beneficent  results  of  the  extensive  diffusion  of  knowledge, 
that  the  merit  and  the  advantages  to  both  sexes  of  absolute 


146 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


continence  before  marriage  are  at  present  universally  recog 
nized  in  this  country. 

Ignorance  Concerning  Marriage. 

While  this  precocious  knowledge  was  at  one  time  not  con. 
demned  as  it  deserved  to  be,  and  as  it  now  is,  proper  informa* 
tion  on  the  subject  is  still  singularly  lacking.  As  Mr.  Acton 
correctly  remarks  :  “  It  is  but  seldom,  and  then  incidentally, 
that  these  matters  are  treated  of  in  books.  Nevertheless 
ignorance,  or  false  ideas  respecting  them,  has  caused  much 
evil,  and  much  domestic  misery.  It  is  generally  assumed 
that  instinct  teaches  adults  how  these  functions  should  be 
exercised.  But  from  several  cases  that  have  come  under  my 
notice,  I  should  say  that  many  would  be  entirely  ignorant 
but  for  previously  incontinent  habits,  or  from  such  notions 
as  they  pick  up  from  watching  animals.”  He  gives  as  an 
instance  one  of  his  patients,  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  who  had  been  married  for  some  years,  and  who,  out 
of  mere  ignorance,  had  never  consummated  the  ceremony. 

Parallel  examples  come  to  the  knowledge  of  most  physi 
cians  who  have  long  been  members  of  the  profession.  It  is 
no  very  extraordinary  experience  to  be  called  to  a  case  of 
confinement,  and  to  discover  that  the  woman  is,  strictly 
speaking,  still  a  virgin.  The  celebrated  accoucheur,  Professor 
Meigs,  of  Philadelphia,  used  to  relate  in  his  lectures  several 
instances  of  the  kind  from  his  own  practice.  And  so  recently 
as  last  year  (1869),  we  find  a  communication  by  Dr.  H.  L. 
Horton,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  in  the  Medical  and 
Surqical  Reporter,  describing  a  similar  case  in  which  he  was 
attending  physician.  The  husband,  when  questioned,  stated 
that  his  wife  had  always  found  the  act  painful,  and  expressed 
his  disappointment,  while  in  fact,  although  she  was  at  term 


SINGULAR  IGNORANCE.  147 

and  was  shortly  delivered  of  a  healthy  child,  an  examination 
showed  she  never  had  actually  yielded. 

The  same  Journal,  in  a  later  number,  contains  an  article 
by  Dr.  Quimby,  of  Jersey  City,  where  after  several  years  of 
marriage,  under  like  circumstances,  a  coldness  and  ultimate 
separation  arose.  Indeed,  nearly  always,  domestic  disap- 
pointment  is  the  consequence  of  this  ignorance. 

We  had  one  instance  brought  to  our  notice  wThere,  through 
ignorance  and  timidity,  nearly  a  year  had  elapsed  after  the 
persons  had  married,  and  yet  it  had  not  been  consummated. 
The  husband  knew  something  was  wrong,  and  it  led  to  a 
separation  which  came  near  being  final. 

As  when  nature  is  balked  in  this  manner,  there  must  be  a 
hindrance  to  normal  domestic  relations,  it  is  proper  that 
parents  should  see  that  young  persons  of  both  sexes  who  are 
about  to  enter  matrimony  have  a  proper  understanding  of  its 
duties. 


The  Marriage  Relation. 

Usually  marriage  in  this  country  is  consummated  within  a 
day  or  two  of  the  ceremony.  In  Greece,  the  excellent  rule 
prevails  that  at  least  three  days  shall  be  allowed  to  elapse  be* 
tween  the  rite  and  the  act,  and  it  were  well  if  this  rule  were 
general.  In  most  cases  the  bride  is  nervous,  timid,  exhausted 
by  the  labor  of  preparation  and  the  excitement  of  the  occa¬ 
sion,  indeed,  in  the  worst  possible  frame  of  body  and  mind 
to  bear  the  great  and  violent  change  which  the  marital 
relation  brings  with  it. 

The  consequence  is  that  in  repeated  instances  the  thought¬ 
lessness  and  precipitancy  of  the  young  husband  lay  the 
foundation  for  numerous  diseases  of  the  womb  and  nervous 
system,  and  for  the  gratification  of  a  night  he  forfeits  the 


148 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


comfort  of  years.  Let  him  at  the  time  when  the  slow  paced 
hours  have  at  last  brought  to  him  the  treasures  he  has  so 
long  been  coveting,  administer  with  a  frugal  hand  and  with 
a  wise  forethought.  Let  him  be  considerate,  temperate,  and 
self-controlled.  He  will  never  regret  it,  if  he  defer  for  days 
the  exercise  of  those  privileges  which  the  law  now  gives  him, 
but  which  are  more  than  disappointing  if  seized  upon  in  an 
arbitrary,  coarse,  or  brutal  manner. 

There  is  no  moi  j  iallible  sign  of  a  low  and  vulgar  man 
than  to  hear  one  boast  or  even  to  mention,  the  occurrences 
which  transpire  on  the  nuptial  eve.  Who  does  so,  set  him 
down  as  a  fellow  devoid  of  all  the  finer  feelings  of  his  own 
sex,  and  incapable  of  appreciating  those  of  the  other.  While 
the  newly  married  man  should  act  so  that  his  tender  solici¬ 
tude  and  kind  consideration  could  only  reflect  credit  on  him¬ 
self  were  they  known,  he  should  hide  them  all  under  a  veil 
of  reticence  more  impenetrable  than  that  which  ancient 
legend  says  concealed  the  mysterious  goddess  of  Sais. 

The  husband  should  be  aware  that  while  as  a  rule  the  first 
conjugal  approaches  are  painful  to  the  new  wife,  and  there¬ 
fore  that  she  only  submits  and  cannot  enjoy  them,  this  pain 
should  not  be  excessively  severe,  nor  should  it  last  for  any 
great  length  of  time — not  more  than  one  or  two  weeks. 
Should  the  case  be  otherwise,  then  something  is  wrong,  and 
if  rest  does  not  restore  the  parts,  a  physician  should  be 
consulted.  It  is  especially  necessary  that  great  moderation 
be  observed  at  first,  an  admonition  which  we  the  more  ur¬ 
gently  give,  because  we  know  it  is  needed,  because  those 
specialists  who  devote  their  time  to  diseases  of  women  are 
constantly  meeting  patients  who  date  their  months  and 
years  of  misery  from  the  epoch  of  marriage. 


AN  ERROR  CORRECTED. 


149 


The  Tests  of  Virginity. 

There  is  a  wide-spread,  an  erroneous,  and  a  most  mis. 
chievous  notion  accepted  among  those  not  acquainted  with 
anatomy,  that  unless  marriage  is  a  bloody  rite,  it  is  indica¬ 
tive  of  previous  unchastity  on  the  part  of  the  bride.  We 
have  had  instances  brought  to  our  knowledge  by  correspond¬ 
ents,  where  the  most  poignant  agony,  and  the  most  cruelly 
unjust  suspicions  were  the  consequences  of  this  unfounded 
belief.  It  seems  to  have  become  general  from  the  perusal 
of  those  portions  of  Deuteronomy  which  lay  down  the  Mosaic 
ritual  of  marriage,  in  which  this  test  of  virginity  was  con¬ 
sidered  final. 

But  there  is  every  difference  between  the  ancient  Jewish 
maidens,  brought  up  to  an  active  live,  married  very  young,  an'J 
of  a  peculiar  temperament,  and  our  young  women  educated 
with  lax  muscles,  and  delicate  frames,  to  habits  of  indolence 
and  debility.  The  consummation  of  marriage  with  a  virgin 
is  by  no  means  necessarily  attended  with  a  flow  of  blood ; 
and  the  absence  of  this  sign  is  not  the  slightest  presumption 
against  her  former  chastity.  In  stout  blondes  it  is  even  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule ;  and  in  all  young  women 
who  have  suffered  from  leucorrhoea,  the  parts  are  relaxed, 
and  flowing  does  not  occur. 

So,  too,  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  hymen  is  no  test. 
Frequently  it  is  absent  from  birth,  and  in  others  it  is  of 
exceeding  tenuity,  or  only  partially  represented.  There  is, 
in  fact,  no  sign  whatever  which  allows  even  an  expert  posi¬ 
tively  to  say  that  a  woman  has  or  has  not  suffered  the  ap¬ 
proaches  of  one  of  the  opposite  sex. 

They  are  all  quite  as  deceptive  as  that  still  practised  in 
Albania,  known  as  “the  sieve  test.”  A  skin  is  stretched 
tightly  across  the  top  of  a  sieve,  and  the  bride  is  requested 


150 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


to  stand  upon  it.  If  the  skin  yields,  she  is  a  virgin.  As  it 
is  very  sure  to  do  so,  the  Albanian  bridegrooms  are  per- 
fectly  convinced  of  the  chastity  of  their  wives. 

The  true  and  only  test  which  any  man  should  look  for  is 
modesty  in  demeanor  before  marriage,  absence  both  of  as¬ 
sumed  ignorance  and  a  disagreeable  familiarity,  and  a  pure 
and  religious  frame  of  mind.  Where  these  are  present,  he 
need  not  doubt  that  he  has  a  faithful  and  a  chaste  wife. 

Obstacles  to  the  Consummation  of  Marriage. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  cases  where  for  some  inca¬ 
pacity  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  it  is  not  possible  to  con¬ 
summate  marriage.  When  an  incapacity  of  this  kind  is 
absolute  or  incurable,  says  Bouvier  in  the  Law  Dictionary, 
and  when  it  existed  at  the  time  of  the  ceremony  of  marriage, 
both  the  ecclesiastical  law  and  the  special  statutes  of  several 
of  the  American  States,  declare  the  marriage  void  and  of  no 
effect,  ab  initio.  But  the  suit  must  be  brought  by  the 
injured  party,  and  he  or  she  naturally  incapable  cannot 
allege  that  fact  in  order  to  obtain  a  divorce. 

An  incapacity  for  marriage  may  exist  in  either  sex,  and  it 
may  be  in  either,  temporary  or  permanent.  We  shall  first 
examine  it 


On  the  part  of  the  Female. 

The  most  common  cause  of  a  temporary  character  is  an 
excessive  sensitiveness  of  the  part.  This  may  be  so  great 
that  the  severest  pain  is  caused  by  the  introduction  of  a 
narrow  sound,  and  the  conjugal  approaches  are  wholly  un¬ 
bearable.  Inflammation  of  the  passage  to  the  bladder,  of 
Borne  of  the  glands,  and  various  local  injuries,  are  also  abso- 


OBSTACLES  TO  MARRIAGE.  \ol 

lute  but  temporary  barriers.  Any  of  these  are  possible,  and 
no  man  with  a  spark  of  feeling  in  his  composition  will  urge 
his  young  wife  to  gratify  his  desires  at  the  expense  of  actual 
agony  to  herself. 

Conditions  of  this  kind  require  long  and  careful  medical 
treatment,  and  though  it  is  disagreeable  to  have  recourse  to 
this,  the  sooner  it  is  done,  the  better  for  both  parties. 

A  permanent  obstacle  is  occasionally  interposed  by  a 
hymen  of  unusual  rigidity.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  that  this 
membrane  resists,  but  occasionally  it  foils  the  efforts  of  the 
husband,  and  leads  to  a  belief  on  his  part  that  his  wife  is 
incapable  of  matrimony.  A  suit  for  divorce  was  brought  in  a 
Pennsylvania  court  some  years  since  on  this  alleged  ground. 
An  examination  by  experts,  however,  revealed  the  fact  that 
no  actual  incapacity  existed,  but  merely  a  removable  one, 
from  this  cause. 

A  complete  or  partial  absence  of  the  vagina  forms  an  ab¬ 
solute  and  generally  incurable  obstacle  to  conjugal  duty  on 
the  part  of  the  woman.  Such  a  condition  may  arise  from  an 
injury  received  earlier  in  life,  and  which  has  allowed  the 
sides  to  contract  and  grow  together ;  or  she  may  have  been 
so  from  birth.  Surgeons  have  devised  various  operations  for 
the  relief  of  this  malformation,  but  they  are  usually  dan¬ 
gerous  and  of  uncertain  results.  No  woman  should  s&jk  a 
metr^monial  connection  when  thus  afflicted,  and  when  it  is 
not  discovered  until  after  marriage,  the  proper  course  is 
either  a  separation  or  a  voluntary  renunciation  of  marital 
privileges. 


On  the  Part  of  the  Male. 

These  are  far  more  numerous  than  in  the  female,  and  form 
an  important  branch  of  our  subject.  Probably  no  one  topic 


152 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


in  sanitary  and  physiological  science  gives  rise  to  more  dis. 
tressing  and  generally  more  causeless  fears  than  the  anxiety 
lest  one  may  not  be  able  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  married  life. 
A  philosophical  medical  writer  says  :  “  In  losing  the  command 
of  this  function  at  an  age  when  it  should  be  vigorous,  man 
loses  his  self-respect,  because  he  feels  himself  fallen  in  im¬ 
portance  in  relation  to  his  species.  Therefore  the  loss  of 
virile  power,  real  or  supposed,  produces  an  effect  more  over¬ 
powering  than  that  of  honors,  fortune,  friends,  or  relatives ; 
even  the  loss  of  liberty  is  as  nothing  compared  to  this  internal 
and  continual  torture.  Those  who  suffer  from  injustice  or 
misfortune  can  accuse  their  enemies,  society,  chance,  etc.,  and 
invent  or  retain  the  consciousness  of  not  having  deserved 
their  lot ;  they  have,  moreover,  the  consolation  of  being  able 
to  complain,  and  the  certainty  of  sympathy.  But  the  im¬ 
potent  man  can  make  a  confident  of  no  one.  His  misery  is 
of  a  sort  which  cannot  even  inspire  pity,  and  his  greatest 
anxiety  is  to  allow  no  one  to  penetrate  his  dismal  secret.” 

W e  are  well  convinced  that  there  are  many  to  whom  these 
words  apply,  and  also  that  there  are  many  who  suffer  these 
pangs  needlessly,  or  who  at  least  are  anxious  without  cause. 
We  shall  therefore  proceed  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  male  which  render  him  averse  to  the  procreative 
act,  incapable  of  completing  it,  unable  to  attempt  it,  or 
barren  in  its  results,  under  the  headings,  lethargy,  debility, 
impotence,  and  sterility.  And 

1.  Lethargy. 

There  are  some  individuals  who  are  rarely  or  never  trou¬ 
bled  by  the  promptings  of  nature  to  perpetuate  life,  and  vet 
are  by  no  means  incapable  of  doing  so.  They  are  indeed  few 
in  number,  and  are  usually  slow  in  mind  and  of  an  extremely 


CAUSES  OP  LETHARGY. 


153 


lymphatic  and  lethargic  temperament.  They  experience 
very  little  desire  and  no  aversion  toward  the  opposite  sex. 
In  a  less  degree,  this  trait  is  a  national  one.  The  poorly  fed 
peasants  of  the  north  of  Europe  are  remarkable  for  the  little 
store  they  set  by  the  indulgence  of  passion.  Such  a  condition 
need  cause  no  anxiety,  and  calls  for  no  treatment. 

A  want  of  desire  does,  however,  often  occur  under  circum¬ 
stances  which  give  rise  to  great  mental  trouble,  lest  it  be 
permanent.  It  may  have  many  causes,  some  mental,  others 
physical.  Prolonged  and  rigid  continence,  excesses  either 
with  the  other  sex  or  in  solitary  vice,  a  poor  and  insufficient 
diet  or  the  abuse  of  liquors  and  the  pleasures  of  the  table, 
loss  of  sleep,  severe  study,  constant  thought,  mental  dis¬ 
turbances,  as  sorrow,  anxiety  or  fear,  the  abuse  of  tobacco, 
drugs,  etc.,  all  may  lead  to  the  extinction  of  the  sexual  feel¬ 
ings.  So,  too,  may  certain  diseases  of  the  organs,  especially 
those  brought  about  by  impure  intercourse,  and  by  organic 
changes,  the  results  of  age,  and  also,  in  some  persons,  a 
natural  intermission  in  the  secretion  of  the  procreative  fluid, 
and  occasionally,  a  dislike  of  the  person  to  whom  one  is 
united.  Athletic  exercises,  severe  and  long-continued,  have 
always  been  known  to  bring  about  a  temporary  lethargy  of 
the  reproductive  system,  and  persons  who  grow  obese  nearly 
invariably  find  their  passions  diminish  until  they  almost 
wholly  disappear. 

Of  these  various  causes,  lethargy  arising  from  muscular  or 
mental  exertion,  from  continence,  from  emotion,  and  from 
high  living,  need  give  no  anxiety,  as  when  the  causes  are 
removed,  the  natural  instincts  will  quite  surely  re-assert 
themselves.  “  Men  who  gain  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
their  brow,”  says  a  .medical  writer,  “  or  by  the  exhausting 
labor  of  their  brains,  should  know  full  well  that  they  cannot 
hope  to  be  always  in  a  fit  state  to  perform  the  sexual  act 


154 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


During  certain  periods  when  occupied  with  other  matters 
the  thoughts  can  dwell  but  little  on  such  subjects,  and  no 
disposition  exists  to  indulge  anything  but  the  favorite  or 
absorbing  pursuit,  mental  or  physical,  as  the  case  may  be. 
After  a  lapse  of  time  different  in  various  individuals,  such 
thoughts  arise  again,  and  the  man  who  yesterday  was  so  in¬ 
different  to  sexual  feelings,  as  practically  to  be  temporarily 
impotent,  now  becomes  ardent.” 

When  such  absence  of  feeling  springs  from  self-abuse,  from 
excessive  alcoholic  drinks,  sexual  indulgence,  the  employ¬ 
ment  of  drugs,  or  the  use  of  tobacco,  it  is  more  serious  and 
more  lasting.  Then  there  is  not  only  a  temporary  cessation 
in  the  secretion,  but  the  action  of  the  internal  organs  has 
been  altered  to  a  degree  which  may  prove  permanent. 
Some  may  think  in  classing  tobacco  under  this  head,  we  are 
going  beyond  what  facts  warrant.  But  our  own  observation, 
as  stated  on  a  previous  page,  leads  us  to  indorse  the  views 
of  Mr.  William  Acton,  who  uses  the  following  language  : 
“  I  am  quite  certain  that  excessive  smokers,  if  very  young, 
never  acquire,  and  if  older,  rapidly  lose  any  keen  desire.” 
The  treatment  in  all  such  cases  can  only  be  successful  when 
the  sufferer  is  willing,  and  able  to  renounce  definitely  and 
completely,  the  habits  which  have  brought  about  his  condi¬ 
tion.  Of  course,  the  hygienic  advice  we  have  to  offer  to  all 
our  readers  is,  never  to  allow  themselves  to  be  led  into  ex¬ 
cess,  and  if  they  have  already  been  guilty  of  such  folly,  the 
sooner  they  renounce  it  the  happier  and  healthier  they 
will  be. 

When  lethargy  arises  from  age  or  local  disease  it  must  be 
met  by  a  judiciously  regulated  medical  treatment,  which  we 
cannot  detail  here. 


CURIOUS  SUPERSTITION. 


155 


2.  Debility. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  desire  present,  and  yet  the 
consummation  of  marriage  to  be  impossible  from  a  want  of 
power,  although  the  individual  is  by  no  means  impotent. 
This  condition  is  called  “  false  impotence,”  and  often  causes 
great  alarm,  though,  generally  unnecessarily.  In  persons  of 
nervous  temperaments,  though  otherwise  perfectly  healthy, 
the  force  of  imagination,  the  novelty,  the  excitement,  and 
the  trepidation  attendant  upon  the  ceremony  of  marriage 
completely  overpower  them,  and  they  are  terrified  to  find 
it  impossible  to  perform  the  duties  of  their  new  relation. 
Sometimes  this  state  of  the  system  lasts  for  days,  weeks,  and 
months.  Recollecting  perhaps  some  early  sins,  the  young 
husband  believes  himself  hopelessly  impotent,  and  may  in 
despair  commit  some  violent  act  forever  to  be  regretted. 

In  the  superstitions  of  the  middle  ages  this  temporary  in¬ 
capacity  was  deemed  to  be  the  work  of  some  sorcerer  or 
witch.  In  France  the  spell  was  known  under  the  name  of 
nouement  d’ aiguillette,  and  many  a  poor  wretch  has  expiated 
this  imaginary  and  impossible  crime  with  severe  tortures  and 
life  itself.  The  French  perhaps,  as  a  nation  with  a  prevail¬ 
ing  nervous  temperament,  may  have  been  subject  to  such  an 
affection  more  than'  others.  Montaigne  in  one  of  his  essays 
speaks  of  it  as  something  very  common,  and  with  the  en¬ 
lightened  spirit  which  characterized  him,  derided  the  super¬ 
stitions  with  which  it  was  associated  by  the  vulgar.  He 
says  in  his  essay  on  the  force  of.  imagination  :  “  I  am  not 
satisfied,  and  make  a  very  great  question  whether  those 
marriage  locks  and  impediments,  with  which  this  age  of  ours 
is  so  fettered  that  there  is  hardly  anything  else  talked  of,  are 
not  merely  the  impressions  of  apprehension  and  fear.”  This 

rational  explanation  was  not  received  generally  then,  because 

12 


156 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


the  trouble  was  imputed  to  witchcraft ;  nor  now,  because  it 
is  attributed  to  permanent  incapacity.  But  in  all  nations 
and  ages  the  nervous  system  is  and  has  been  liable  to  such 
sudden  prostrations. 

Herodotus,  the  Greek  historian,  relates  that  Amasis,  King 
of  Egypt,  having  married  a  Greek  virgin  famous  for  her 
beauty,  by  name  Laodicea,  found  himself  deprived  of  all 
power  to  complete  the  marriage.  Under  the  impression 
that  she  had  used  some  enchantment,  he  ordered  her  be¬ 
headed.  But  Laodicea  begged  time  and  opportunity  to 
erect  a  statue  to  Venus,  before  the  completion  of  which  she 
assured  Amasis,  his  faculties  would  be  restored  him.  The 
king  granted  her  request,  and  she  thus  saved  her  life. 

Such  instances  not  unfreqAently  come  to  the  notice  of  the 
physician,  and  if  he  is  a  judicious  one,  he  refrains  from  call¬ 
ing  into  requisition  any  of  those  powerful  drugs  which  act 
as  stimulants  to  the  functions,  but  rather  writes  for  some 
carminative,  and  assures  the  patient  of  its  efficacy.  His 
promises  are  rarely  falsified,  for  the  mind  once  convinced 
that  the  corrective  has  been  found,  the  nervous  debility  de¬ 
parts. 

The  case  is  different  and  more  serious  in  that  form  of  de¬ 
bility  attended  by  premature  loss  of  the  secretion,  or  a  defec¬ 
tive  erectile  power.  To  be  sure,  this  too  may  arise  from  the 
novelty  of  the  act,  want  of  power  of  the  will,  undue  excite¬ 
ment,  apprehension,  fear,  or  disgust,  and  in  these  instances, 
its  treatment  is  obvious.  But  it  is  also  one  of  the  commonest 
consequences  of  excess,  of  venereal  diseases,  especially  gon¬ 
orrhoea,  of  solitary  vice,  and  of  all  those  causes  which  we 
have  previously  enumerated  as  exerting  a  debilitating  influ¬ 
ence  on  the  masculine  function.  Concerning  its  prevention 
and  treatment  we  refer  to  what  we  have  already  said  in  the 
second  part  of  this  work.  Usually  this  form  of  debl  c.y  i* 


RARITY  OF  IMPOTENCE. 


15? 

associated  with  considerable  irritability,  that  is,  persons  so 
afflicted  are  on  the  one  hand  very  readily  excited  by  the 
presence  of  the  other  sex,  or  other  causes,  and  yet  are  weak, 
and  unable  satisfactorily  to  complete  the  conjugal  duty. 

All  such  persons  should  sedulously  avoid  every  kind  of 
artificial  excitement,  make  free  use  of  cold  water  as  douche 
and  hip-bath,  and  often  they  require  special  surgical  treat¬ 
ment,  or  the  employment  of  electricity  or  galvanism.  Some¬ 
times  this  irritability  arises  from  an  accumulation  of  matter 
under  the  foreskin,  or  from  the  too  great  tightness  of  this  part. 
Debility  may  result  from  wearing  trusses  for  ruptures,  as 
these  mechanical  appliances  interfere  with  the  circulation, 
and  hence  impair  the  secretion  of  the  fluid.  Should  this  im¬ 
pairment  extend  to  the  degree  of  threatening  entire  loss  of 
power,  the  question  would  arise  whether  the  hernia  should 
not  be  cured  by  what  is  known  in  surgery  as  the  “radical 
operation.” 

A  diet  exclusively  or  largely  vegetable  is  supposed  by 
many  to  weaken  the  powers,  especially  of  such  vegetables  as 
are  chiefly  made  up  of  fibre  and  water,  as  cabbage,  turnips, 
beets,  etc.  So,  too,  any  diet  which  is  not  nourishing  inter¬ 
feres  with  the  functional  vigor.  The  monks  of  La  Trappe 
are  obliged  by  the  rules  of  their  order  to  abjure  meat  alto¬ 
gether,  and  to  subsist  upon  a  loaf  of  black  bread  and  water 
each  day.  They  are  famous  for  the  rigidity  of  their  vows, 
and  the  success  with  which  they  maintain  them. 

3.  Impotence. 

Actual  impotence  during  the  period  of  manhood  is  a  very 
rare  complaint,  and  nature  very  unwillingly  and  only  after 
the  absolute  neglect  of  sanitary  laws  gives  up  the  power  of  re¬ 
production.  Whatever  mercenary  quacks  may  write  for 


158 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


base,  interested  motives,  and  however  they  may  magnifytha 
ill-results  of  abuse,  it  is  very  uncommon  to  find  complete  and 
permanent  inability  to  consummate  the  marriage  rite. 

Professor  Lallemand  gives  the  following  definition  of  this 
condition :  “  True  impotence  consists  of  want  of  power,  not 
once,  but  habitually  ;  not  only  with  prostitutes,  but  with 
those  whom  we  most  love ;  not  under  unfavorable  circum¬ 
stances,  but  during  long  periods  ot  time,  say  five,  fifteen,  or 
twenty  years.”  It  is  well  that  it  is  rare,  for  as  Prof.  Nie- 
meyer  remarks :  “  Not  only  sensual  women,  but  all,  without 
exception,  feel  deeply  hurt,  and  are  repelled  by  the  husband 
whom  they  may  previously  have  loved  dearly,  when,  after 
entering  the  married  state,  they  find  that  he  is  impotent.  The 
more  inexperienced  and  innocent  they  were  at  the  time  of  mar¬ 
riage,  the  longer  it  often  is  before  they  find  that  something  is 
lacking  in  their  husband ;  but,  once  knowing  this,  they  in¬ 
fallibly  have  a  feeling  of  contempt  and  aversion  for  him.” 
It  is  the  knowledge  that  they  are  becoming  contemptible 
and  disgusting  to  their  wives,  that  brings  so  many  young 
husbands,  fearing  they  are  impotent,  to  the  physician.  And 
as  Professor  Niemeyer  goes  on  to  say,  unhappy  marriages, 
barrenness,  divorces,  and  perchance  an  occasional  suicide, 
may  be  prevented  by  the  experienced  physician  who  can 
give  correct  information,  comfort,  and  consolation  when  con¬ 
sulted  on  this  subject. 

Therefore  we  are  careful  to  repeat  that  actual,  permanent 
impotence  is  very  rare  in  early  and  middle  life,  that. nature 
is  long-suffering  in  this  respect  and  slow  to  bring  in  her 
revenges  for  even  very  gross  violations  of  her  laws.  In  by 
far  the  most  numerous  instances,  supposed  cases  of  impotence 
and  actual  cases  of  inability  to  consummate  marriage  depend 
for  their  cause  either  on  lethargy  or  debility  of  the  function, 
and  are  temporary,  or  at  any  rate  curable. 


CONSOLATIONS. 


159 


When  a  single  man  fears  that  he  may  be  unable  to  fulfil 
the  duties  of  marriage,  he  should  not  marry  until  this  fear  is 
removed,  as  the  very  existence  of  such  a  suspicion  will 
strongly  tend  to  bring  about  the  weakness  which  he  is  so 
anxious  about.  Rather  let  him  state  his  condition  fully  to 
some  intelligent  physician,  and  always  preferably  to  one 
whom  he  knows  and  in  whose  skill  and  discretion  he  has  con¬ 
fidence,  and  never  to  the  specialists  whose  advertisements 
he  reads  in  newspapers,  and  whose  only  aim  is  to  foster  his 
terrors  to  the  extent  of  frightening  him  out  of  large  sums  of 
money  without  doing  him  a  pennyworth  of  good.  And  under 
no  circumstances  should  he  adopt  the  scandalous  and  disgust¬ 
ing  advice  which  immoral  associates  may  give  him,  to  experi¬ 
ment  with  lewd  women  in  order  to  test  his  powers.  Such 
an  action  must  meet  with  unequivocal  condemnation  from 
every  point  of  view. 

Should  there  be  good  medical  reasons  to  believe  that  he  is 
actually  impotent,  he  must  not  think  of  marriage.  Such  an 
act  would  be  a  fraud  upon  nature,  and  the  law  both  of  church 
and  state  declares  such  a  union  null  and  void.  Yet  even 
with  this  imperfection,  he  need  not  give  way  to  despair,  or 
to  drink.  There  is  plenty  to  live  for  besides  the  pleasures 
of  domestic  life.  Thousands  of  men  deliberately  renounce 
these.  There  are  careers  of  usefulness  and  of  pleasantness 
in  abundance  in  which  he  can  pass  his  days  and  hardly  miss 
those  joys  which  are  denied  him.  Certainly  it  would  be  far 
more  deplorable  to  lose  sight  or  hearing  than  this  faculty  so 
rarely  and  sometimes  never  called  into  play.  There  is  good 
cheer,  therefore,  even  for  such  unfortunates. 

That  the  causes  of  such  loss  may  be  guarded  against,  in  so 
far  as  they  are  preventable,  as  every  man  is  bound  to  do,  we 
shall  briefly  recapitulate  them. 

First,  old  age.  As  we  have  explained  in  the  first  part  of 


160 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


this  work,,  the  period  of  virility  in  man,  like  that  of  child 
bearing  in  woman,  is  naturally  limited  to  but  a  fraction  of 
the  whole  term  of  life.  The  physiological  change  which 
takes  place  in  the  secretion  in  advanced  years  deprives  it  of 
the  power  of  transmitting  life,  and  at  last  the  vigor  of  the 
function  is  lost.  The  spermatozoa,  which  in  manhood  are 
bodies  formed,  as  we  have  said,  of  a  conical  head  and  a  long, 
vibrating  extremity,  lose  the  latter  portion  of  their  body, 
and  become  mere  rounded  cells,  without  the  power  of  inde¬ 
pendent  motion.  With  the  impotence  of  decrepitude,  how¬ 
ever,  we  have  little  to  do,  and  as  to  its  prevention — cure, 
there  is  none — we  refer  to  what  we  have  already  said  in  the 
earlier  portion  of  this  book,  in  regard  to  prolonging  virility. 

The  second  cause  is  venereal  diseases.  M.  Li6geois,  who 
has  most  closely  examined  the  effects  of  these  diseases  on 
virility  of  any  recent  wrriter,  considers  that  they  lead,  more 
frequently  than  any  other  class  of  maladies,  to  permanent, 
incurable  impotence.  They  may  do  so  either  by  an  actual 
destruction  of  the  part,  or  by  exciting  inflammation  in  the 
secretory  apparatus,  or  by  attacking  the  adjacent  structures. 

Malformations  are  another  cause.  These  may  be  natural, 
dating  from  birth,  or  accidental,  from  injury,  or  from  some 
necessary  surgical  operation,  or  from  design,  as  in  the  case 
of  eunuchs.  They  are  so  various  that  we  cannot  give  any 
special  directions  for  such  cases.  When  the  secreting  glands 
are  absent  from  birth,  there  may  or  may  not  be  impotence, 
but  generally  it  is  present.  Cases  are  on  record,  however, 
where  men  in  this  condition  have  married  and  had  large 
families  of  children.  Stock-raisers,  however,  look  with  well- 
grounded  suspicion  on  the  males  of  the  lower  animals  which 
present  this  malformation. 

The  influence  of  self-abuse  in  producing  impotence  has  been 
much  overrated  for  selfish  purposes  by  writers  who  cared 


AN  ERROR  CORRECTED. 


161 


nothing  how  much  mental  suffering  they  caused,  so  that  they 
only  bled  their  victim’s  purse.  This  habit  causes  perversion 
of  feeling,  and  debility,  but  does  not  affect  the  character  of 
the  secretion,  except  when  carried  to  great  excess. 

“  The  diminished  power  of  the  onanist  is  usually  first  in¬ 
creased  to  temporary  impotence  by  reading  popular  medical 
treatises  on  the  results  of  his  vice,”  says  Professor  Niemeyer, 
and  it  is  the  manifest  truth  of  this  remark  that  leads  us  to 
believe  that  some  better  information  than  that  now  generally 
current  on  this  topic  will  do  good,  and  save  many  from 
months  of  needless  anguish.  This  is  true  also  of  sperma¬ 
torrhoea.  It  leads  to  debility,  but  exceedingly  rarely  to 
permanent  incapacity. 

M.  Li6geois,  in  the  paper  from  whicn  we  have  already 
quoted,  says  this  complaint,  “  as  a  general  rule,  does  not 
modify  the  secretion.”  All  that  is  required  in  the  temporary 
condition  of  incapacity  which  arises  from  this  cause  is  to 
cease  from  the  evil,  to  commence  a  course  of  tonic  medicines, 
and  to  place  the  body  under  the  best  hygienic  conditions. 
Given  these,  and  the  most  alarming  symptoms  will  disap¬ 
pear,  with  a  rapidity  as  gratifying  to  the  mind  as  it  is  bene¬ 
ficial  to  the  body.  Of  course  we  do  not  deny  that  in  some 
very  few  cases  the  insidious  corruption  of  the  system  has 
progressed  to  such  an  extent  that  recovery  is  hopeless ;  but 
they  are  so  uncommon  that  few  physicians  meet  with  them. 

Every  one  knows  that  repeated  excesses  in  indulgence 
enfeeble  the  powers,  and  result  at  length  in  actually  anni¬ 
hilating  them.  Dissipated  single  men,  professional  liber¬ 
tines,  and  married  men  who  are  immoderate,  usually  pay  the 
penalty  of  oft-recurring  violation  of  natural  laws,  by  a  com¬ 
plete  loss  of  virility  long  before  the  average  period.  We 
lan  but  admonish  such,  that  they  indulge  at  their  own  peril, 


162 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


and  that  years  of  ceaseless  care  cannot  repair  the  damages 
which  months  of  intemperance  have  brought  about. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  obesity  di 
minishes  the  generative  faculties.  It  may  altogether  extin. 
guish  them.  Trainers  of  domestic  animals  are  well  aware 
that  there  is  an  antagonism  between  the  fat  producing  and 
the  reproductive  powers.  Capons  are  more  readily  fattened 
than  cocks,  steers  than  bulls.  So  it  is  in  the  human  race. 
Both  men  and  women,  as  a  rule,  commence  to  grow  stout 
about  the  time  their  reproductive  powers  flag ;  and  eunuchs 
always  increase  in  flesh. 

Dr.  Dancel,  in  his  treatise  on  obesity,  says  this  condition 
of  body  may  lead  to  impotence,  either  mechanically,  by 
causing  such  an  unwieldy  growth  that  the  conjugal  relation  ia 
rendered  impossible,  or  by  diminishing  desire  and  power. 

As  far  back  as  classical  antiquity,  this  fact  was  familiar 
to  physicians.  Hippocrates,  the  father  of  medicine,  cites  a 
number  of  instances  where  a  too  robust  habit  had  brought 
about  virtual  or  actual  impotence.  Fat  children  sometimes 
never  manifest  in  after  years  any  desire  for  the  opposite  sex, 
and  there  are  examples  of  young  men  of  thirty  who  were 
completely  devoid  of  feeling  from  the  same  cause. 

The  remedy  for  such  a  condition  is  to  observe  a  regimen 
which  will  reduce  the  flesh  without  impairing  the  strength. 
This  can  be  accomplished  with  ease  and  certainty  by  a  judi¬ 
cious  application  of  what  is  now  familiarly  known  as  the 
“  Banting  system.”  The  details  of  this  can  be  readily  ascer¬ 
tained  from  Mr.  Banting’s  pamphlet,  or  from  other  sources. 

“  I  have  never  failed  to  observe,”  says  Dr.  Dancel,  in  this 
connection,  “that  a  man,  not  yet  old,  who  is  delivered  by  a 
judicious  diet  of  even  twelve  or  fifteen  pounds  weight,  is 
astonished  at  the  advantageous  change  which  has  taker 


MINERAL  POISONING. 


163 


place  in  his  virile  powers  since  he  has  commenced  to  grow 
thinner.” 

So  that  we  can  add  a  judicious  regulation  of  the  weight 
of  the  body  to  the  precepts  we  gave  on  an  earlier  page, 
“how  to  prolong  virility.” 

There  are  some  special  causes  of  impotency  not  generally 
known,  and  therefore  not  guarded  against.  The  habitual 
use  of  opium  or  hasheesh  induces  a  general  prostration  of 
the  nervous  system,  and  a  debility  of  the  powers  of  genera¬ 
tion,  which  in  the  slaves  to  those  pernicious  habits  passes 
into  complete  impotency.  General  mal-nutrition  of  the  body 
[sine  Cerere  friget  Venus,  is  an  ancient  classical  expression), 
lead  poisoning,  diabetes,  and  some  diseases  of  the  spinal  coid, 
also  may  bring  about  this  condition. 

Arsenical  poisoning  has  the  same  effect,  and  it  is  worth 
while  to  remember  that  poisoning  from  both  lead  and  arsenic 
are  more  common  than  people  generally  believe,  on  account 
of  the  very  extensive  use  made  of  the  salts  of  those  metals 
in  the  arts.  We  have  known  and  read  of  repeated  instances 
of  lead  poisoning  from  drinking  water  brought  in  lead  pipes, 
and  of  arsenical  poisoning  from  the  coloring  matter  in  green 
wall  paper,  and  such  familiar  sources.  Nearly  all  the  hair- 
tonics  and  hair-color  restorers  sold  so  extensively  contain 
sugar  of  lead,  and  may  produce  the  results  of  that  poison  by 
their  outward  application. 

4.  Sterility. 

In  the  legal  treatises  we  have  consulted  in  order  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  view  which  that  profession  takes  of  various  ques¬ 
tions  concerned  in  virility,  it  appears  that  no  distinction  is 
made  between  impotence  and  sterility.  Bouvier  in  his  Law 
Dictionary  expressly  calls  attention  to  this  inaccuracy.  Tka 


164 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


researches  of  physicians  have  recently  placed  it  in  a  strong 
ight.  It  is  perfectly  possible  for  a  man  to  consummate 
carriage,  when  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  him  ever  to  have 
children.  His  power  of  transmitting  life  is  gone  forever. 

The  condition  of  sterility  in  man  may  arise  either  from  a 
condition  of  the  secretion  which  deprives  it  of  its  fecundating 
powers,  or  it  may  spring  from  a  malformation  which  prevents 
it  reaching  the  point  where  fecundation  takes  place.  The 
former  condition  is  most  common  in  old  age,  and  as  a  sequence 
of  venereal  disease,  or  from  a  change  in  the  structure  or 
functions  of  the  glands.  The  latter  has  its  origin  in  a  stric¬ 
ture,  or  in  an  injury,  or  in  that  condition  technically  known 
as  hypospadias,  or  in  debility. 

We  wish  distinctly  to  add  that  neither  self-abuse  nor 
spermatorrhoea,  nor  excess  in  natural  indulgence  leads  to 
sterility.  In  all  these  conditions,  the  secretion  is,  barring 
exceptional  cases,  perfectly  capable  of  transmitting  life ; 
though  we  may  presume  certainly  not  such  vigorous  life  as 
in  healthy  and  moral  individuals. 

Dr.  Marion  Sims,  of  Paris,  has  recently  given  much  atten¬ 
tion  to  sterility  in  man,  and  his  researches  have  thrown  much 
light  on  the  subject.  As,  however,  they  will  particularly 
interest  the  profession,  we  shall  not  spare  space  for  them 
here,  but  proceed  to  the  discussion  of  the  practical  question : 
Ought  a  man  who  believes  himself  sterile  to  marry  ?  He  is 
able,  we  will  say,  to  consummate  his  union,  but  can  have  no 
expectation  of  offspring. 

This  inquiry  is  not  rarely  put.  Old  men  who  contemplate 
matrimony  must  take  it  as  their  own.  Men  with  certain 
deformities  have  also  to  discuss  it.  They  cannot  explain 
their  condition  to  the  women  they  love ;  hardly  can  they 
disclose  it  to  the  most  sympathizing  and  discreet  medical 
friend. 


STERILITY  IN  MAN. 


165 


Oar  suggestions  to  them  may  relieve  them  from  the  neces- 
sity  of  either.  The  only  question  really  at  issue  is,  whether 
they  should  deprive  a  woman  of  the  sweet  satisfaction  of 
having  little  ones  of  her  own  to  love  and  cherish.  There¬ 
fore  if  she  be  of  such  mature  years  as  to  have  passed  the 
epoch  when  she  can  hope  for  such  joys,  certainly  there  is  no 
objection  to  the  match.  But  if  young,  with  all  the  motherly 
yearnings  and  capacities  unsatisfied,  it  will  be  a  cruel  and  a 
dangerous  thing  to  condemn  her  to  a  childless  life. 

It  is  possible,  however,  even  where  there  is  sterility  in  the 
male,  providing  the  secretion  is  not  absolutely  devoid  of  life- 
producing  properties,  for  the  husband  to  have  children, 
This,  one  of  the  latest  and  most  brilliant  discoveries  in  this 
branch  of  medical  science,  has  been  successfully  carried  out 
by  Dr.  Girault,  of  Paris,  whose  essay  “  on  the  artificial  pro¬ 
duction  of  the  human  species”  was  published  in  1869.  It 
would  lead  us  into  details  of  altogether  too  technical  a 
character  to  do  more  than  mention  ■  the  fact. 

Those  professional  readers  who  would  look  into  the  subject 
further  will  find  the  references  at  the  end  of  this  section. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  with  such  resources  at  hand,  no  man 
need  hesitate  about  matrimony  on  account  of  sterility,  unless 
that  condition  arises  from  a  permanent  and  absolute  degene¬ 
ration  of  his  functions. 

So  far  as  the  propriety  of  employing  such  means  are  con¬ 
cerned,  we  cannot  doubt  that  under  many  circumstances  they 
are  perfectly  justifiable.  They  do  not  in  any  way  violate 
nature,  or  go  contrary  to  her  plans,  but  assist  her  in  carrying 
them  out.  Frequently  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
happiness  of  a  married  couple  that  they  should  have  a  child. 
When  it  is  found  that  the  sterility  in  either  partner  is  owing 
to  one  of  the  causes  which  the  plan  of  Dr.  Girault  can  alone 
counteract- -and  it  may  be  either  the  fault  of  wife  or  hua 


166 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


band — there  can  be  no  good  reason  urged  against  carrying 
it  out. 

Where  sterility  depends  upon  a  deficient  secretion  of  the 
seminal  fluid,  the  patient  may  have  a  fair  chance  of  improve* 
ment,  always  provided  no  organic  disease  is  present  A 
regulated  diet,  tonics,  and  a  change  of  climate  will  do  much  ; 
but  it  is  the  judicious  application  of  electricity  from  which 
most  is  to  be  hoped. 

“  It  appears  not  unreasonable  to  expect,”  says  Dr.  Julius 
Althaus  in  his  recent  work  on  Electro-therapeutics,  “  that 
the  secretion  of  semen  may  be  restored  when  lost,  or  improved 
when  deficient,  by  the  use  of  galvanism.  A  deficient  secre¬ 
tion  of  milk  in  the  breasts  of  a  female,  of  cerumen  in  the  ears, 
of  nasal  mucus,  and  of  saliva,  may  be  stimulated  by  the 
application  of  electricity.  The  same  effect  may  naturally 
be  looked  for  by  acting  with  the  continuous  current  upon 
the  secretory  glands  of  the  semen.” 

The  value  of  this  medicinal  agent  in  debility  and  failure 
of  the  generative  powers  has  long  been  recognized  by  pro¬ 
fessional  men.  As  long  ago  as  the  close  of  the  last  century 
it  was  even  extravagantly  vaunted  as  a  restorer  of  virility. 

It  acts  as  a  powerful  stimulant,  and  when  combined  with 
proper  general  treatment  holds  out  a  promise  of  improvement 
and  often  of  cure,  in  most  cases  where  no  structural  change 
has  taken  place.  But  it  is  a  useless  and  even  a  dangerous 
remedy  in  ignorant  hands. 

Excessive  passion  in  either  sex  leads  to  sterility.  Some¬ 
times  this  passes  to  a  condition  of  true  monomania,  techni¬ 
cally  known  as  erotomania.  In  such  cases  it  is  usually  con¬ 
nected  with  some  serious  disease  of  the  brain  or  spinal  cord, 
and  may  well  give  grounds  for  uneasiness. 

When  in  men,  it  is  known  under  the  names  of  priapism 
and  satyriasis.  TKo  unfortunate  subjects  of  these  distressing 


SPECIAL  DIRECTIONS. 


ie? 


complaints  are  constantly  goaded  by  passion ;  their  thoughts 
dwell  most  of  the  time  on  lascivious  images ;  sleeping  or 
waking  they  are  besieged  by  passion  ;  and  yielding  to  their 
desires  so  far  from  assuaging  only  incites  them  more,  until 
the  constitution  breaks  down  under  the  unnatural  strain. 
Male  Messalinas,  they  are  fatigati,  sed  non  satiati. 

The  secretion  under  such  circumstances  is  non-fecundating, 
as  a  rule,  showing  the  condition  to  be  one  of  disease.  And 
further  proof  to  the  same  effect  is  the  fact  that  it  may  arise 
in  persons  who  have  lived  continent  lives. 

Whenever  such  is  the  case,  it  is  the  part  of  prudence  to 
abstain  as  far  as  possible  from  any  indulgence  whatever,  to 
take  a  regular  course  of  treatment,  to  have  a  thorough 
examination,  and  in  all  respects  to  regard  one’s  self  in  the 
light  of  a  sick  man.  Those  who  ignorantly  and  rashly 
imagine  that  such  excessive  sensations  are  a  mark  of  vastly 
increased  vigor,  and  felicitate  themselves  on  the  change,  will 
have  bitterly  to  rue  their  error  in  after  years. 

Special  Treatment  of  Loss  of  Power. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  causes  of  loss  of  power  will 
to  a  considerable  extent  indicate  the  care  necessary  to  pre¬ 
vent  it,  and  to  improve  it. 

But  besides  these  there  is  a  specific  course  of  treatment 
which,  if  persistently  and  intelligently  carried  out,  is  produc¬ 
tive  of  good  results. 

Except  in  those  cases  where  there  is  an  organic  change  in 
the  parts,  or  where  it  is  the  result  of  advanced  age,  there  is 
every  hope  that  the  power  can  be  restored.  The  weakness 
is  a  nervous  weakness  ;  it  depends  upon  a  want  of  strength 
in  the  nervous  system ;  and  by  having  this  clearly  in  mind 
hq  may  accomplish  much. 


168 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


It  is  well  known  that  marriage  often  has  an  excellent 
influence  on  the  slighter  affections  of  this  nature.  As  Prof. 
Lallemand  says,  “the  regular  and  legitimate  employment 
of  the  functions  will  alone  give  all  the  energy  of  which  they 
are  susceptible,  and  to  this  general  law  the  function  of  repro¬ 
duction  forms  no  exception.” 

Yet  it  is  necessary  to  make  the  distinction  here  that  when¬ 
ever  it  is  not  nervous  debility,  but  local  irritation  or  inflam¬ 
mation  which  has  brought  on  loss  of  power,  no  recommenda¬ 
tion  could  be  more  injudicious  than  this  of  marriage.  The 
excitement  will  most  certainly  severely  aggravate  the 
trouble. 

Another  consideration  is,  that  while  it  is  permissible  to 
marry  in  most  cases  of  debility  or  temporary  impotence,  such 
a  course  cannot  be  recommended  out  of  consideration  for  the 
young  wife  and  future  offspring. 

Who  has  a  right  to  ask  a  happy  and  charming  young  gir’} 
to  forsake  home  and  friends  in  order  to  rescue  a  lascivious- 
young  man  from  the  penalties  of  his  own  turpitudes  ?  Who, 
being  a  father,  would  tolerate  such  a  proposition  a  moment 
if  it  concerned  his  own  daughter  ? 

Then  the  act  of  procreation  is  physically  the  most  exalted 
one  of  life.  Its  demands  on  the  nervous  force  are  greater, 
and  it  requires  the  expenditure  of  more  of  the  vital  power. 
When  this  is  the  evident  plan  of  nature,  what  offspring  can 
we  reasonably  expect  from  flagging  and  exhausted  func¬ 
tions  ? 

While,  therefore,  marriage  as  a  hygienic  measure  is  desir¬ 
able,  it  should  be  preceded  or  accompanied  by  treatment  of  a 
more  direct  kind,  specially  directed  to  restore  the  nervous 
force.  This  can  be  successfully  done  by  various  agents. 

One  of  the  best  is  electricity ,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  It  does  not  suit  where  there  is  irritation  or  inflam* 


USE  OF  DRUGS. 


169 


mation,  but  for  debility,  pure  and  simple,  there  is  hardly  any 
more  satisfactory  therapeutic  means.  After  the  patient  has 
once  been  taught  by  a  skilful  practitioner  the  particular 
method  of  application  which  suits  his  individual  case,  he  can 
apply  it  himself.  Good  batteries  can  now  readily  be  obtained 
at  a  reasonable  price. 

Next  in  value  is  ‘phosphorus.  This  agent,  so  dangerous 
if  carelessly  or  ignorantly  employed,  is  of  the  greatest  service 
when  wisely  used.  It  is  precisely  the  element  which  the 
nervous  system  expends,  and  therefore  that  which  it  requires 
to  invigorate  it.  When  there  is  a  feeling  of  exhaustion  after 
the  act,  or  incomplete  preparation  for  it,  or  when  debility 
unattended  with  inflammation  is  present  in  any  of  its  forms, 
we  find  it  of  the  highest  value. 

It  may  be  administered  in  various  preparations,  but  there 
is  only  one  which  it  would  be  suitable  or  safe  for  the  non¬ 
medical  reader  to  attempt.  As  we  have  remarked  on  a  pre¬ 
vious  page,  death  has  in  various  instances  resulted  from  its 
injudicious  employment.  The  one  we  shall  mention  is 
“phosphoric  acid  lemonade.”  The  formula  is 

Dilute  phosphoric  acid,  fifteen  drops  ; 

Syrup  of  ginger,  a  tablespoonful  ; 

Water,  a  tumblerful. 

This  makes  an  agreeable  beverage,  and  may  be  taken 

three  times  a  day,  but  not  oftener ;  nor  should  the  amount 
of  the  dilute  acid  be  increased. 

The  other  powerful  excitants  of  the  nervous  system  which 
are  prescribed  in  such  cases  are  all  so  dangerous  if  incau¬ 
tiously  used  that  we  shall  not  mention  them.  They  form 
part  of  the  physician’s  reserves,  and  can  only  be  taken  when 
the  patient  can  be  closely  watched  to  prevent  any  injurious 
effects. 


170 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


[Authors  and  Works  quoted  on  the  above  Topics. — Bou. 
vier,  Dictionary  of  Legal  Terms;  sub  voce,  Marriage  and  Impe. 
tence;  Reich  Naturgeschichte  des  Ehelichen  Lebens ,  pp  92,  95  ( 
Acton,  On  the  Reproductive  Organs,  p.  109  ;  Dr.  Horton,  Medico^ 
and  Surgical  Reporter,  Aug.  1869,  and  Feb.  1870.  On  Virginity  ^ 
Tardieu,  Les  Attentats  aux  meters  ;  Marriage  Rites  of  all  Nations, 
New  York,  1869,  chap.  III.;  Professor  Lallemand,  On  Spermator - 
rhcea;  Dr.  S.  Durkee,  On  Gonorrhoea  and  Syphilis ;  Alfred  Maury, 
La  Magie  et  V  Astrologie  au  Moyen  Age,  On  the  nouements 
d' aiguillett** ;  Montaigne,  Essais,  Liv.  I.  chap,  xx.;  Herodotus, 
Bk.  II.  ;  M-  Liegeois,  Half-yearly  Compendium  of  Medical  Science, 
Part  IV.  Sect.  II.  ;  Dr.  Dancel,  Traite  de  V  obesiti,  chap.  iv.  ;  Dr. 
Marion  SitrH,  On  Sterility  in  Man,  in  the  N.  Y.  Med.  Jour.,  1869; 
Dr.  Griravxt,  Etude  stir  la  Generation  artificielle  dans  I'espece 
humaine.  Paris,  1869,  and  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter,  June, 
1870  ;  Dr.  Julius  Altliaus,  Treatise  on  Medical  Electricity ,  pp. 
620'  626,  second  edition,  1870. j 


HUSBANDS  AND  WIVES. 


TV  >;  shall  now  suppose  that  the  young  couple  have  passed 
through  the  trials  and  dangers  of  the  “  honey-moon,”  as  it  is 
familiarly  called,  and  have  settled  down  to  the  staid  conduct 
of  life  as  “  old  married  people.”  In  this  condition  they  will 
find  themselves  surrounded  by  circumstances  very  different 
from  their  former  experiences  as  single  persons,  and  it 
behooves  them  to  give  careful  attention  to  the  precepts  of 
hygiene  now,  lest  peculiar  temptations  and  novel  trials  lead 
them  to  the  commission  of  acts  for  which  they  will  be  bitterly 
but  fruitlessly  sorry  in  after  years.  Therefore  we  commence 
our  instructions  with  some  remarks  on 


The  Hygiene  of  the  Chamber. 

This  should  be  a  large,  well- ventilated  room,  with  a 
southern  or  western  exposure,  which  can  receive  the  direct 
sunlight  for  several  hours  of  the  day.  At  least  twelve  hun¬ 
dred  cubic  feet  of  air  ought  to  be  allowed  each  occupant,  so 
if  two  sleep  in  the  room,  and  the  ceiling  be  twelve  feet  high, 
about  fifteen  feet  square  is  a  desirable  size.  If  one  or  more 
children  sleep  in  the  same  room  the  dimensions  should  be 
proportionately  increased,  or  extra  pains  should  be  taken  to 
secure  a  rapid  change  in  the  air  of  the  room.  No  doubt 
much  of  the  mortality  which  characterizes  the  courts  and 
alleys  of  our  great  cities  is  due  to  the  narrow  and  crowded 
13  .  (171) 


172  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

rooms  in  which  the  tenants  sleep ;  and  no  matter  how  many 
other  causes  of  disease  are  removed,  so  long  as  this  remains, 
we  cannot  expect  to  see  a  proper  and  normal  degree  of  health 
established. 

In  this  country  it  is  customary  for  married  persons  to  sleep 
in  the  same  bed.  In  Europe,  in  the  higho*  classes,  they 
nearly  always  occupy  separate  rooms.  Louis  Philippe,  the 
“  citizen  king”  of  France,  who  thought  it  policy  to  assimilate 
himself  in  mode  of  life  to  the  middle  classes,  chose  to  make 
his  family  an  exception  to  this  rule,  and,  during  his  reign, 
visitors  to  the  Tuileries  were  duly  pointed  out  the  great 
double  bed  in  which  the  king  and  queen  slept.  Probably 
under  most  circumstances  it  is  well  to  adopt  the  American 
habit,  as  such  nearness  of  body  leads  to  a  nearness  of  spirit, 
and  mutual  trust  and  love  are  fostered  by  the  fact  of  con¬ 
tiguity. 

Only  when  disease,  or  some  avocation  which  leads  to 
disturbed  slumbers,  is  to  be  taken  into  account,  do  we 
recommend  the  opposite  plan.  Some  physicians  suppose 
that  consumption  is  contagious,  and  of  course  many  chronic 
skin  diseases  notoriously  are  so  ;  and  if  present,  it  is  too 
severe  a  demand  for  the  sufferer  to  make  that  a  healthy  per¬ 
son  should  needlessly  be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  illness. 

Physicians,  who  are  called  up  nearly  every  night,  can 
hardly  with  propriety  insist  that  their  wives  shall  partake  of 
this  annoyance  inseparable  from  their  avocation.  But  we 
forget.  We  need  not  extend  to  them  advice  on  the  subject 
of  sanitary  rules,  as  with  these  they  are  supposed  to  be 
already  familiar. 

Cleanliness  of  person  is  a  point  about  which  married  people 
of  both  sexes  cannot  be  over-scrupulous.  When  in  health,  we 
urgently  recommend  them  to  use  a  bath  every  morning  or 
every  evening.  An  unpleasant  odor  almost  always  attends 


PASSION  IN  WOMEN. 


m 


those  who  neglect  this  direction,  and  certainly  few  small 
things  can  sooner  or  more  inevitably  lead  to  aversion  than  a 
bad  smell.  Persons  whose  feet,  or  whose  perspiration  is 
generally  foul,  can  obtain  relief  from  this  by  seeking  medical 
advice.  When  it  is  their  own  fault,  as  for  instance  from 
chewing  tobacco,  or  from  frequent  indulgence  in  spirits,  they 
will  stand  sadly  in  their  own  light  unless  they  renounce  these 
indulgences.  The  man  who  likes  his  quid  better  than  his 
wife  is  not  much  of  a  man. 

Frequent  changes  of  underclothing  are  desirable  on  this 
account  as  well  as  for  general  hygienic  reasons,  and  any 
pains  bestowed  on  keeping  the  attire  neatly  arranged  and 
well  cared  for  will  not  be  lost.  Women  have  more  delicate 
sensibilities  than  men,  they  are  more  readily  pleased  or 
repulsed  by  little  things,  and  the  husband  who  is  anxious  to 
maintain  pleasant  relations  in  his  home  circle  will  do  well 
not  to  neglect  the  cares  of  the  toilet. 

We  pass  from  these  considerations  of  general  hygiene 
to  those  which  more  particularly  have  to  do  with  the  state 
of  marriage  ;  and  first 

Of  Marital  Relations. 

At  the  outset  of  this  important  subject,  we  stop  to  correct 
a  gross,  but  widely  received  popular  error.  Every  woman, 
every  physician,  nearly  every  married  man  will  support  us 
in  what  we  are  going"  to  say,  and  will  thank  us  for  saying  it. 

It  is  in  reference  to  passion  in  woman.  A  vulgar  opinion 
prevails  that  they  are  creatures  of  like  passions  with  our¬ 
selves  ;  that  they  experience  desires  as  ardent,  and  often  as 
ungovernable,  as  those  which  lead  to  so  much  evil  in  our  sex- 
Vicious  writers,  brutal  and  ignorant  men,  and  some  shame 
less  women  combine  to  favor  and  extend  this  opinion. 


/ 


174 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Nothing  is  more  utterly  untrue.  Only  in  very  rare  in. 
stances  do  women  experience  one  tithe  of  the  sexual  feeling 
which  is  familiar  to  most  men.  Many  of  them  are  entirely 
frigid,  and  not  even  in  marriage  do  they  ever  perceive  any 
real  desire.  We  have  in  numbers  of  instances  been  so  in¬ 
formed  by  husbands,  who  regretted  it,  and  were  surprised 
at  it. 

Loose  women,  knowing  that  their  business  is  increased  if 
they  feign  the  pleasure  to  be  reciprocal,  often  give  occasion 
for  the  opinion  we  are  combating,  in  the  minds  of  young  and 
inexperienced  men.  As  Mr.  Acton  well  remarks  :  “  There 
are  many  females  who  never  feel  any  sexual  excitement 
whatever ;  others  again,  to  a  limited  degree,  are  capable  of 
experiencing  it.  The  best  mothers,  wives,  and  managers  of 
households  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  sexual  pleasure. 
Love  of  home,  children,  and  domestic  duties  are  the  only 
passions  they  feel.  As  a  rule,  the  modest  woman  submits  to 
her  husband,  but  only  to  please  him  ;  and,  but  for  the  desire 
of  maternity,  would  far  rather  be  relieved  from  his  atten¬ 
tions.” 

This  is  doubly  true  of  women  during  the  periods  when  they 
are  with  child,  and  when  they  are  nursing.  The  whole  force 
of  the  economy  at  these  times  is  taken  up  with  providing 
sustenance  for  the  new  being,  and  there  is  no  nervous  power 
left  to  be  wasted  in  barren  pleasures.  In  those  exception¬ 
able  cases  where  this  does  not  hold  good,  every  excitement 
is  visited  upon  the  child,  and  it  has  to  suffer  in  health  and 
growth  for  the  unnatural  appetite  of  the  mother. 

The  above  considerations,  which  all  married  men  will  do 
well  to  ponder,  should  lead  them  to  a  very  temperate  enforce¬ 
ment  of  their  conjugal  rights.  They  should  be  always  con¬ 
siderate,  and  not  so  yield  themselves  to  their  passions  as  to 
sacrifice  their  love  to  the  woman  they  have  married.  Let  u a 


PLEASURE  TO  BE  MUTUAL. 


175 


here  quote  the  words  of  Dr.  Horatio  R.  Storer,  of  Boston,  on 
these  rights  :  “  Restrained  within  due  bounds  as  to  frequency, 
they  serve  to  give  a  charm  to  life,  and  to  impart  fresh 
courage  for  enduring  its  vicissitudes ;  but  to  gain  these,  one 
single  rule  must  be  observed.  It  is  this  :  That  the  husband 
compel  his  wife  to  do  nothing  that  she  herself  does  not  freely 
assent  to.  A  forced  union  is  even  worse  than  solitary  vice. 
No  true  conjugal  enjoyment  can  exist  unless  it  is  mutual. 
The  true  rule  is  to  take  only  what  is  freely  given.” 

In  a  similar  strain  speaks  the  distinguished  old  English 
divine,  Jeremy  Taylor,  in  his  excellent  “  Rules  and  Exercise 
of  Holy  Living  :”  “  Married  people  must  be  sure  to  observe 

the  order  of  nature  and  the  ends  of  God.  He  is  an  ill  hus¬ 
band  that  uses  his  wife  as  a  man  treats  a  harlot,  having  no 
other  end  but  pleasure.  The  pleasure  should  always  be 
joined  to  one  or  another  of  these  ends — with  a  desire  of  chil¬ 
dren,  or  to  avoid  fornication,  or  to  lighten  and  ease  the  cares 
and  sadnesses  of  household  affairs,  or  to  endear  each  other ; 
but  never  with  a  purpose,  either  in  act  or  desire,  to  separate 
the  sensuality  from  these  ends  which  hallow  it.  Married 
people  must  never  force  themselves  into  high  and  violent 
lusts  with  arts  and  misbecoming  devices,  but  be  restrained 
and  temperate  in  the  use  of  their  lawful  pleasures.” 

We  cannot  improve  upon  this  admirable  advice,  so  sound, 
and  so  fitly  expressed,  by  one  of  the  wisest  and  purest  of 
men ;  nor,  though  other  authorities  are  numerous  enough  to 
our  hand,  do  we  consider  they  are  called  for. 

It  is  impossible,  necessarily,  to  lay  down  any  specific  rules 
for  the  government  of  others  in  this  particular ;  but  we  may 
state  generally  that  no  husband  should  force  his  wife  to  sub¬ 
mit  to  him  against  her  will,  nor  should  he  even  ungently 
persuade  her  :  and  for  himself,  whenever  he  feels  immediately 
after  the  act,  or  during  the  next  day,  any  depression,  or  de- 


176  THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 

bility,  or  disturbance  of  the  health,  it  is  a  certain  sign  that 
he  is  overtasking  himself.  Taking  men  on  an  average,  we 
counsel  them  for  their  own  sake,  when  in  middle  life  and 
usual  health,  not  to  indulge  more  than  once  or  twice  a  week, 
and  in  old  age  and  feeble  health  (no  matter  if  they  do  expe¬ 
rience  desire),  by  no  means  so  often,  or  not  at  all. 

There  are  certain  periods  when  a  complete  cessation  should 
be  observed.  One  of  these  is  during  the  monthly  sickness 
of  the  woman,  and  for  a  day  or  two  after  that  epoch.  It  is 
well  known  that  among  our  American  Indians  at  such  times 
the  squaws  leave  the  lodge,  and  remain  entirely  segregated 
from  the  household  ;  and  among  the  Israelites  the  Mosaic  law 
pronounces  a  woman  unclean  for  a  number  of  days  after  her 
periodical  illness  has  ceased. 

The  origin  of  these  customs,  no  doubt,  was  that  observa¬ 
tion  proved  that  intercourse  at  such  periods  leads  to  disease  in 
the  male ;  and  modern  science,  after  having,  as  usual,  denied 
for  some  time  this  ancient  opinion,  has  at  last  proven  its 
correctness.  “  It  cannot  be  too  often  mentioned,”  says  Dr. 
Alexander  Stein,  of  New  York,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
Medical  Journal  Association  of  that  city,  February,  1870, 
“  that  venereal  disease  is  not  always  the  result  of  impure 
intercourse,  but  may  arise  from  contact  with  a  female  during 
the  existence  of  a  discharge  which  is  not  specific,  as,  for  in¬ 
stance,  during  menstruation.”  All  other  writers  of  note  co¬ 
incide  with  this  view,  and  therefore  the  caution  is  necessary 
absolutely  to  abstain  at  such  times. 

During  pregnancy  and  nursing,  conjugal  relations  should 
be  as  few  as  possible.  Some  writers  condemn  them  alto¬ 
gether,  but  this  we  consider  an  extravagance.  They  do  no 
harm,  providing  that  they  neither  on  the  one  hand  unduly 
excite  the  woman,  nor  on  the  other  are  repulsive  to  her. 

In  the  former  case  they  injure  the  growth  of  the  foetus  be- 


THE  TORMENT  OF  TANTALUS. 


177 


fore  birth  and  sometimes  provoke  a  miscarriage,  and  after 
birth  are  quite  sure  to  deteriorate  the  quality  of  the  milk  to 
the  serious  damage,  perhaps,  of  the  infant.  If  repulsive, 
they  lead  to  domestic  unhappiness,  loss  of  mutual  respect, 
and  sometimes  to  violent  nervous  excitement  on  the  part  ol 
the  wife. 

After  a  natural  confinement,  at  least  two  full  months 
should  be  allowed  to  elapse  before  tne  resumption  of  the 
marital  relations,  and  if  the  labor  has  been  an  unusually 
severe  or  a  complicated  one,  it  is  prudent  to  extend  this 
interregnum  yet  another  month. 

During  and  after  the  change  of  life,  it  is  also  important 
to  observe  an  unwonted  moderation.  During  that  period 
any  unaccustomed  excitement  of  this  character  may  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  flooding,  and  other  serious  symptoms,  while  after 
the  crisis  has  been  passed,  the  sexual  appetite  itself  should 
wholly  or  almost  wholly  disappear. 

In  what  we  have  said  it  may  be  complained  that  we  harp 
too  constantly  on  one  string — that  we  are  forever  repeating 
and  urging  moderation,  temperance,  restraint,  self-denial — 
that  if  marriage  is  going  to  be  one  constant  torment  of  Tan¬ 
talus,  with  the  beaker  of  pleasure  ever  filled  and  ever  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  thirsty  lips  only  to  be  whisked  away  again  the 
next  moment,  leaving  the  ardent  longings  cruelly  deceived, 
then  that  the  charm  of  the  condition  is  gone,  and  it  is  better 
and  easier  to  deny  one’s  self  entirely  than  to  irritate  by  half¬ 
indulgence. 

Or  it  may  be  thrown  up  to  us  that  all  this  counsel  is 
useless  because  men  will  not  be  moderate  in  lust,  and  will 
not  practise  self-restraint  in  order  to  spare  feelings  which 
they  cannot  understand,  and  a  delicacy  which  they  cannot 
appreciate,  in  a  person  over  whom  the  law  gives  them,  in 
this  respect,  an  absolute  power.  Very  well,  we  are  prepared 


178  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

to  enforce  onr  advice  with  arguments  drawn  from  another 
source. 

We  must  counsel  moderation  not  only  as  a  moral  and 
amiable  trait,  and  as  a  bounden  duty  which  man  owes  woman, 
but  more  than  that,  as  an  imperative  obligation  which  every 
man  owes  himself.  That  he  may  know  precisely  what  may 
befall  him  from  a  disregard  of  the  precepts  of  temperance, 
we  shall  mention  a  few  of 

The  Dangers  of  Excess. 

The  unmarried  man,  who  purchases  at  a  high  price,  and 
rarely,  the  pleasures  of  illicit  love,  is  generally  supposed  to 
be  the  only  sufferer  from  excess  in  the  venereal  act.  Far 
from  it.  He  is  by  no  means  alone.  More  commonly  than 
is  currently  believed,  the  married  man  has  to  settle  an  ac¬ 
count  for  immoderate  indulgence. 

To  quote  the  words  of  a  physician  of  wide  experience : 
“  Too  frequent  emission  of  the  life-giving  fluid,  too  frequent 
sexual  excitement  of  the  nervous  system,  is  most  destructive. 
Whether  it  occurs  in  married  or  unmarried  people  has  little 
or  nothing  to  do  with  the  result. 

“  The  married  man  who  thinks  that,  because  he  is  a  mar¬ 
ried  man,  he  can  commit  no  excess,  no  matter  how  often  the 
sexual  act  is  repeated,  will  suffer  as  certainly  and  as  seriously 
as  the  debauchee  who  acts  on  the  same  principle  in  his  indul¬ 
gences,  perhaps  more  certainly  from  his  very  ignorance,  and 
from  his  not.  taking  those  precautions  and  following  those 
rules  which  a  career  of  vice  is  apt  to  teach  a  man.  Till  he 
is  told,  the  idea  never  enters  his  head  that  he  has  been  guilty 
of  great  and  almost  criminal  excess ;  nor  is  this  to  be  won¬ 
dered  at,  as  such  a  cause  of  disease  is  seldom  hinted  at  by 
the  medical  man  he  consults.” 


TWOFOLD  NATURE  OF  EXCESS. 


m 


The  nature  of  excess  may  be  twofold ;  either  it  is  a  long- 
continued  indulgence  beyond  the  average  power  of  the  man 
to  withstand,  and  which  slowly  but  surely  undermines  his 
health,  strength,  and  life ;  or  it  is  brief  and  violent. 

It  is  too  often  supposed  that  if  only  for  a  night,  or  a  few 
nights,  or  a  week  or  two,  a  man  gives  the  reins  to  his  pas¬ 
sion  and  overtaxes  his  functions,  a  few  days’  rest  will  restore 
him.  It  does  seem  to,  but  often  only  seems.  The  ultimate 
consequences  of  libidinous  excess,  even  when  that  excess  is 
of  very  limited  duration,  are  becoming  more  and  more  appa¬ 
rent  to  physicians. 

Dr.  Thomas  Laycock,  Professor  of  the  Practice  of  Medi¬ 
cine  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  an  article  published 
quite  recently  on  this  subject,  states  it  as  the  result  of  his 
clinical  experience,  that  “  a  great  excess  for  a  few  days  only, 
acting  like  a  ‘  shock,’  may  manifest  its  consequences  in  the 
nervous  system  at  a  long  distant  subsequent  period.  A  sud¬ 
den,  short,  yet  great  excess  may  be  more  dangerous  than 
more  moderate,  albeit  excessive  indulgence,  extending  over 
a  long  period.  In  certain  constitutions,  although  only  in¬ 
dulged  in  legitimately  and  for  a  short  period,  as  after  mar¬ 
riage,  such  excess  may  act  like  a  shock  or  concussion  of  the 
spinal  cord,  or  like  a  blow  on  the  head,  and  may  give  rise  to 
serious  chronic  diseases,  as  epilepsy,  insanity,  and  paralysis.* 

The  ordinary  results  of  an  abuse  of  the  conjugal  privilege 
are,  in  the  man,  very  much  the  same  as  those  brought  on  by 
self-abuse.  Locally  there  is  over-excitation,  irritability,  and 
possibly  inflammation.  The  digestion  becomes  impaired, 
dyspepsia  sets  in,  the  strength  is  diminished,  the  heart  has 
spells  of  palpitation,  the  spirits  are  depressed,  spermator¬ 
rhoea  may  arise,  the  genetic  powers  lose  their  vigor,  there  is 
unusual  sensitiveness  to  heat  and  cold,  sleep  is  not  refreshing, 


180 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


and  a  jaded,  languid  indifference  takes  the  place  of  energy 
and  ambition. 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  characteristic  effects  is  indi- 
cated  in  the  throat  and  by  the  voice.  There  is  a  very  close 
sympathy,  and  one  not  readily  explained  between  the  voice 
and  the  procreative  function. 

W e  have  already  mentioned  the  change  from  tenor  to  bass 
which  takes  place  at  puberty,  and  never  occurs  in  eunuchs. 
Excessive  indulgence  often  first  shows  itself  by  an  impair¬ 
ment  of  vocal  power,  and  a  sense  of  dryness  and  hoarseness 
m  the  throat.  Self-abuse  and  nocturnal  losses  produce  the 
same  effects  in  men  otherwise  eontinent.  Often  a  chronic 
bronchitis  or  a  loss  of  volume  and  strength  in  the  voice  is 
due  to  some  disorder  or  overstraining  of  the  masculine  func¬ 
tion,  and  the  proper  remedies  must  be  directed  in  accordance 
with  this  fact. 

A  vast  amount  of  ill-health  arises  from  this  unsuspected 
cause,  and  it  is  one  of  the  benefits  which  we  hope  will  accrue 
from  a  more  public  discussion  of  this  topic  than' has  yet  been 
attempted,  that  tnere  will  be  a  general  appreciation  of  the 
truth  that  a  man  for  his  own  sake  should  exert  self-denial  in 
marriage. 

Still  more  should  he  do  so  for  his  wife’s  sake.  Yery  many 
women  lose  their  health,  and  some,  no  doubt,  their  life,  through 
the  constant  solicitations  of  their  husbands.  One  of  the  ablest 
physicians  of  our  country  who  has  made  the  diseases  peculiar 
to  women  his  special  study,  Dr.  Storer,  says :  “  Among  these 
diseases  is  a  very  large  class  occasioned  or  aggravated  by 
excessive  sexual  indulgence.”  Of  course  we  do  but  refer  to 
this  fact  here,  as  we  have  elsewhere  treated  of  woman’s  pecu¬ 
liar  functions  and  the  disorders  to  which  they  are  liable,  but 
we  wish  all  men  to  know  that  often  they  may  injure  their 


THE  MAXIMUM  OF  POWER. 


181 


fives’  health  irretrievably  by  a  self-indulgent  course,  and 
with  this  run  the  risk  of  ruining  their  own  domestic  happiness. 

A  foolish  notion  sometimes  prevails  that  it  is  necessary  to 
health  to  have  frequent  intercourse.  We  have  already  said 
that  there  is  no  condition  of  life  more  thoroughly  in  accordance 
with  perfect  vigor  than  chaste  celibacy.  Next  to  this  comes 
moderation  in  married  life.  It  is  never  required  for  sanitary 
reasons  to  abuse  the  privileges  which  law  and  usage  grant. 
Any  such  abuse  is  pretty  sure  to  bring  about  debility  and 
disease. 

They  may  be  long  coming,  and  the  connection  may  often  be 
obscure,  but  it  is  undeniable.  The  ancient  Greek  physicians 
were  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  form  of  paralysis  now  tech¬ 
nically  called  “  locomotor  ataxy,”  and  attributed  it  to  excess 
in  venery.  Modern  observers  have  indorsed  their  opinion, 
and  have  traced  beyond  doubt  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect 
in  a  number  of  instances. 

The  question  may  now  be  put 

What  is  Excess? 

As  a  matter  of  figures  it  is  difficult  to  answer,  but  there  is 
no  difficulty  whatever  in  stating  explicitly  the  laws  of  hygiene 
in  the  case. 

The  power  of  the  masculine  function  in  different  men  varies 
greatly.  Extraordinary  accounts  are  given  by  some  writers, 
and  individuals  are  very  apt  to  exaggerate  their  capacities. 

It  is  well  known  that  Augustus,  surnamed  the  Strong,  last 
King  of  Poland,  had  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  children,  on 
which  Carlyle  justly  remarks,  in  his  History  of  Frederick 
the  Great ,  that  Augustus  certainly  attained  the  maximum 
in  bastardy  of  any  mortal  on  authentic  record. 

One  of  the  Latin  historians  records  of  the  Emperor  Pro- 


132 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE 


clus,  that  in  the  war  with  the  Sarmates  he  violated  one 
hundred  virgins  in  fifteen  days.  Such  exhibitions  of  brutal 
lust  are  discreditable  to  the  race,  and  nearly  always  disas¬ 
trous  to  the  individual. 

In  point  of  fact  it  is  impossible  for  even  the  most  vigorous 
man  to  repeat  the  sexual  act  more  than  five  or  six  times 
within  twelve  hours.  Should  it  be  attempted  more  frequently 
no  spermatic  fluid  passes,  but  merely  a  glairy  mucus,  often 
tinged  with  blood,  or  even  pure  blood.  Pleasure  there  is 
none,  and  danger  there  is  much. 

Attempts  have  been  made  by  legislators  and  divines  to 
fix  definitely  a  limit  to  the  conjugal  approaches  which  should 
be  binding  on  all.  The  physician  knows  the  impossibility 
of  such  a  regulation.  What  one  man  can  support  .with 
impunity  will  ruin  the  health  of  another.  Each  one  must 
be  a  law  to  himself. 

We  have  known  men  who  for  years  hardly  omitted  a  sin¬ 
gle  night  to  approach  their  wives,  and  yet  seemed  none  the 
worse.  These  are  exceptions.  If  we  are  asked  to  give 
some  general  average  which  may  serve  as  a  guide,  we  should 
say  that  for  a  man  past  the  first  flush  of  youth,  whose  mind 
or  body  is  engaged  in  regular  labor  as  severe  as  that  of 
ordinary  business,  once  a  week  is  as  often  as  he  can  pru¬ 
dently  expend  his  force  in  sensual  pleasure ;  and  often  he 
will  find  it  of  advantage  even  to  restrict  himself  more  than 
this,  as  we  have  previously  stated. 

Generally  speaking,  the  hygienic  rule  is,  that  after  the  act 
the  body  should  feel  well  and  strong,  the  sleep  should  be  sound, 
and  the  mind  clear.  Whenever  this  is  not  the  case,  when 
the  limbs  feel  languid,  the  appetite  feeble  or  capricious,  the 
intellect  dull,  and  the  faculties  sluggish,  then  there  is  excess, 
and  the  act  should  be  indulged  in  more  rarely. 


WHAT  IS  EXCESS? 


183 


Those  who  observe  strictly  this  rule  will  need  no  other, 
and  will  incur  no  danger  from  immoderate  indulgence. 

^Ai/thors  and  Works  referred  to. — Becquerel,  Tr ait  &  d'  Hy¬ 
giene  ,  Acton,  On  Prostitution ;  Dr.  Storer,  Is  it.  1?  p.  117; 
Jeremy  Taylor,  Rules  of  Holy  Living ,  p.  50,  Dr.  Stein,  New 
York  Medical  Journal ,  June,  1870  Dr.  Napheys,  Physical  Life 
of  Woma-n,  d.  78 ;  Dr.  Laycock,  Dublin  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Medical  Sconce  (May,  1809),  on  the  Dangers  of  Libidinous  Ex¬ 
cess;  Acton,  On  the  Reproductive  Organs  (p  2 ' 2) ,  on  Clergyman  s 
Sore  Throat ;  Thomas  Carlyle,  History  of  Frederick  the  Great, 
vol  M.  p.  95  ;  Muller,  (Jeber  Unwnilfc-'ur hohe  SanuH5V*nn.ste  (pp, 
50-63),  on  Venereat  Excess,  j 


THE  HUSBAND  AS  A  FATHER. 


The  differences  of  the  sexes,  the  emotions  which  depend 
upon  these  differences,  and  the  institution  of  marriage  are 
primarily  and  directly  existent  for  the  purpose  of  transmit¬ 
ting  life,  or,  to  put  it  more  plainly,  for  having  children. 
Every  married  couple  must  distinctly  and  constantly  impress 
this  truth  upon  their  minds,  and  be  governed  by  it  in  their 
life.  Whatever  relations  they  bear  to  each  other,  whatever 
duties  they  may  have  to  society  and  themselves,  all  of  them 
are  subordinate  to  the  paramount  obligation  of  having  and 
raising  a  family.  We  care  not  what  .excuse  may  be  ima¬ 
gined  in  order  to  escape  this  duty,  it  is  inadmissible.  No¬ 
thing,  short  of  positive  incapacity  can  exculpate  either 
party. 

It  is  not  only  their  duty  to  have,  not  merely  a  child  or 
two,  but  a  family  of  children  ;  but  also,  to  do  all  in  their 
power  that  their  offspring  have  all  the  natural  advantages 
which  it  is  possible  to  give  them.  It  may  not  be  generally 
known  that  this  matter  touches  some  of  the  most  intimate 
and  earliest  relations  of  the  married  couple.  But,  nowa¬ 
days,  physicians  at  least  are  fully  satisfied  that  the  season 
and  manner  of  conception,  the  condition  of  father  and 
mother  at  the  time,  and  several  attending  circumstances^ 
exercise  a  most  important  influence  on  the  newly  formed 
being.  In  order  that  this  topic,  which  we  believe  to  be  one 
of  the  highest  interest  to  all,  may  be  properly  understood, 
we  are  obliged  to  depart  from  the  rule  we  have  generally 
(184) 


THE  HUMAN  EGG. 


185 


laid  down  for  ourselves — not  to  trespass  on  the  domain  of  the 
physiologist — and  give  a  brief  explanation,  so  far  as  that  is 
possible  with  the  present  possessions  of  science,  of  that  most 
mysterious  and  wonderful  phenomenon,  conception. 

The  Nature  of  Conception. 

The  old  writers  had  a  proverb  :  “  Every  living  being  origi¬ 
nates  in  an  egg.”  Without  allowing  this  maxim  the  latitude 
it  claims,  it  is  perfectly  true  so  far  as  the  human  race  is  con¬ 
cerned.  Every  one  of  us  commenced  our  existence  in  an 
egg.  The  human  egg,  however,  has  no  shell,  and  is  not,  as 
with  fowls  and  many  lower  animals,  deposited  outside  the 
body.  The  female  matures  one  or  several  at  each  of  her 
monthly  periods,  and  they .  pass  from  the  sac  which  has 
hitherto  contained  them  on  their  way  to  the  outer  world. 
They  are  so  minute  that  they  are  hardly  visible  to  the  naked 
eye,  and  so  delicate  in  structure  that  they  readily  perish. 
They  remain  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time  in  their  passage  from 
the  spot  where  they  are  formed  to  their  destination,  some¬ 
times  requiring  but  a  day  or  two,  at  others  probably  a  week 
or  two. 

During  this  passage,  should  they  come  in  contact  with  the 
secretion  of  the  male,  the  vibratory  bodies  which  we  have 
described  as  spermatozoa  surround  the  egg,  penetrate  into  it 
perhaps,  and  fecundate  it.  At  this  moment  conception  has 
taken  place,  and  a  new  member  of  the  species  ha?  com¬ 
menced  its  individual  life. 

Now  the  interest  of  this  process  to  us  in  the  present  con¬ 
nection  rests  on  the  indisputable  fact  that  the  qualities  of 
the  male  element  are  very  largely  influenced  by  the  condi¬ 
tion,  riiental  and  physical,  of  the  father  at  the  time  ;  and  that 
these  qualities  materially  change  for  better  or  worse,  as  the 


186 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


case  may  be,  the  development  of  the  egg,  and  the  growth, 
faculties,  character,  and  destinies  of  the  newly-formed  indi¬ 
vidual. 

One  of  the  best  proven  and  most  disastrous  examples  of 
this  is  seen  in  children  who  have  been  conceived  at  the  time 
the  father  was  partially  intoxicated.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  under  such  circumstances  the  child  is  pretty 
sure  either  to  be  idiotic ,  or  to  have  epileptic  fits,  or  to  be 
of  a  feeble  mind  and  irritable  nervous  system.  What  a 
curse  does  the  unblessed  cup  here  entail  upon  the  family ! 
How  horrible  the  reflection,  in  after  years,  that  the  idiot  boy 
or  the  tortured  girl  owes  its  wretchedness  to  the  intempe¬ 
rate  indulgence  of  the  father ! 

The  children  of  men  who  have  exhausted  themselves  by 
excesses,  or  solitary  vice,  or  insufficient  food,  or  severe  bodily 
and  mental  strain,  are  not  what  they  would  have  been  if 
these  deteriorating  elements  had  been  removed.  Yery  intel¬ 
lectual  men  rarely  have  large  families,  and  though  to  some 
extent  talent  is  an  inheritance,  the  children  of  such  are  apt 
to  be  either  quite  below  or  quite  above  mediocrity. 

The  offspring  of  men  who  marry  late  in  life  usually  mani¬ 
fest  some  signs  of  the  decrepitude  which  marked  their  senile 
father.  They  are  not  long-lived,  and  are  rarely  healthy. 
Their  teeth  and  hair  fall  early,  and  they  are  perhaps  never 
conspicuous  for  sturdy  muscles  and  power  of  endurance. 

Not  dissimilar  are  those  which  are  conceived  at  a  time 
when  the  father  is  recovering  from  or  is  threatened  with  a 
severe  illness.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  period  of  conva¬ 
lescence  from  some  affections,  that  the  passions  are  quite 
ardent.  A  sound  hygiene  forbids  their  gratification.  For 
not  only  may  this  result  in  a  relapse,  or  a  lingering  debility, 
but  it  may  bring  into  the  world  a  child  condemned  to  ao 
early  death,  or  a  lingering  and  painful  life. 


FACTS  CONCERNING  CONCEPTION. 


181 


The  seasons  of  the  year  exercise  a  very  manifest  action  on 
the  secretion  of  the  male  element.  In  domestic  and  wild 
animals  this  is  familiar  to  every  one.  To  a  less  extent  it  is 
observable  in  the  human  race.  Tennyson  refers  to  it  in 
“  Locksley  Hall — 

“In  the  spring  a  young  man's  fancy  lightly  turns  to  thoughts  of 
love.” 

Mr.  Acton,  possibly  acting  on  the  hint  of  the  poet,  has 
taken  the  trouble  to  collect  the  statistics  on  this  point  as 
found  in  the  registration  reports  of  Great  Britain.  He 
reaches  the  curious  result  that  there  are  about  seven  per 
centum  more  conceptions  in  that  country  during  the  spring 
months  than  during  any  other  quarter  of  the  year.  And 
Dr.  Edward  Smith,  of  London,  has  pursued  the  subject 
further,  and  ascertained  that  the  mortality  of  infants  con¬ 
ceived  in  the  spring  time  is  decidedly  less  than  that  of  those 
whose  existence  has  commenced  at  any  other  period  of  the 
year.  It  would  thus  seem  that  a  well-defined  law  indicates 
that  the  male,  as  a  rule,  is  more  capable  of  perpetuating  his 
species  when  the  icy  winter  loses  his  hold  of  the  land,  and 
the  warm  breath  of  the  south  wind  evokes,  as  if  by  magic, 
sweet  violets  and  gay  daffodils  from  the  dark  and  cold  earth. 

An  even  temper,  peace  of  mind,  and  calm  desires  are  usu¬ 
ally  supposed,  and  with  every  probability,  to  conspire  favor¬ 
ably  for  the  destinies  of  the  offspring.  Jeremy  Taylor,  in 
the  work  we  recently  quoted,  says :  “  Those  mixtures  are 
most  innocent  which  are  most  simple,  most  natural,  most 
orderly,  and  most  safe.” 

It  is  both  disgraceful  and  dangerous  for  a  man  to  use  his 
wife  as  a  libertine  does  a  prostitute.  How  can  he  expect 
her  to  retain  her  respect  for  him,  who  shows  none  for  her? 
How  can  he  suppose  that  she  will  remain  pure,  if  he  practises 
corrupt  arts,  and  artificial  excitants  ? 

14 


188 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


“  Husbands  should  know,”  says  the  Seigneur  de  Brantome 
in  one  of  his  curious  books,  “  that  when  they  abuse  their 
wives  by  lascivious  actions  and  discourses,  they  injure  them¬ 
selves,  and  violate  the  purpose  of  marriage;  and  if  their 
wives  fail  in  fidelity  in  consequence  of  such  corruptions,  hus- 
oands  have  no  right  to  demand  redress,  for  they  have  brought 
this  punishment  on  themselves.” 

Too  frequently,  we  fear,  young  men  regard  this  sacred 
union  as  merely  a  safe  and  easy  means  of  indulging  their 
appetites.  If  they  carry  out  such  an  idea,  they  may  dis¬ 
cover  too  late  the  magnitude  of  their  folly. 

It  is  a  vicious  and  a  vulgar  error  which  pretends  that  the 
unnatural  ardor,  the  anxiety,  and  the  sweetness  of  the  stolen 
fruit,  which  are  associated  with  illicit  love,  tend  to  produce 
a  more  felicitously  constituted  being.  Illegitimate  children 
are  notorious  for  their  mortality.  The  deaths  among  them 
during  the  first  year  are  far  greater  in  proportion  than 
among  the  progeny  of  the  married,  as  has  been  demonstrated 
by  the  writers  of  the  Keport  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities 
of  Massachusetts  (1868).  Some  celebrated  bastards  there 
have  been,  it  is  true,  but  they  are  the  exceptions,  and  gene¬ 
rally  they  have  a  taint  of  viciousness  or  of  monomania  run¬ 
ning  in  their  blood,  which  spoils  their  lives.  Shakspeare, 
who  had  studied  so  closely  all  that  pertains  to  man  and  hip 
superstitions,  makes  Edmund  in  King  Lear,  say : — 

“  Why  brand  they  us  with  base  ? 

Who,  in  the  lusty  stealth  of  nature,  take 
More  composition  and  fierce  quality, 

Than  doth,  within  a  dull,  stale,  tired  bed, 

Go  to  the  creating  a  whole  tribe  of  fops, 

Got  between  sleep  and  wake  ?” 

And  proves  by  the  atrocious  villainy  of  the  youth,  and  his 
utter  want  of  natural  affection,  how  false  was  the  sentiment 
he  expresses  in  these  lines. 


ASTONISHING  FERTILITY. 


189 


True,  that  a  certain  amount  of  passion  is  eminently  desira¬ 
ble,  and  in  all  likelihood  does  beneficially  affect  the  offspring; 
but  here  again,  the  judicious  man  will  always  remain  master 
of  himself. 

The  Avoidance  and  Limitation  of  Offspring. 

He  chooses  the  part  of  wisdom,  which  cannot  be  impugned, 
who  attentively  studies  the  laws  of  nature  and  obediently 
submits  his  life  to  her  dictates.  We  have  defined  the  only 
natural  object  of  marriage  to  be  to  have  and  to  rear  a  family 
of  children.  The  question,  How  many  children  is  it  our  duty 
to  have  ?  is  one  often  asked  by  the  married.  The  father 
feels  his  abilities  to  educate  and  provide  for  them  limited  ;  the 
mother,  who  travails  in  sorrow,  and  on  whom  the  immediate 
care  of  them  devolves,  looks  often  with  more  dread  than 
pleasure  to  another  addition  to  her  flock.  Her  health  may 
be  giving  away  and  her  spirits  flagging. 

If  here,  as  elsewhere,  we  seek  by  observation  to  derive 
some  reply  to  this  inquiry  from  nature,  we  find  that  she 
has  made  certain  provisions  for  the  definite  limitation  of  off¬ 
spring;  and  unmistakably  warns  us  of  the  danger  of  too  rapid 
child-bearing,  not  only  by  debilitating  the  mother,  but  by 
yielding  imperfect,  feeble,  and  deformed  children. 

This  limit  she  sets  may  indeed  be  a  distant  one.  The 
fecundity  of  some  women  is  matter  of  astonishment.  Italian 
history  says  that  the  noble  lady  Dianora  Frescobaldi  was  the 
mother  of  fifty-two  children.  Brand,  in  his  History  of  N ew- 
castle,  mentions  as  a  well-attested  fact,  that  a  weaver  in 
Scotland  had,  by  one  wife,  sixty-two  children,  all  of  whom 
lived  to  be  baptized :  and  in  Aberconway  Church  may  still 
be  seen  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Nicholas  Hooker,  who 
was  himself  a  forty-first  child,  and  the  father  of  twenty-seven 
children  by  one  wife. 


190 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Such  examples  are,  we  need  not  add,  so  rare  that  they 
belong1  to  the  curiosities  of  medical  literature.  We  rarely 
meet  a  woman  now-a-days  who  is  the  mother  of  more  than 
ten  living  children.  Even  in  such  a  family  the  youngest 
ones  will  usually  be  found  puny,  or  rickety,  or  idiotic,  or  de¬ 
formed.  Dr.  Matthews  Duncan,  a  careful  obstetric  statis¬ 
tician,  considers  that  that  number,  therefore,  is  too  great. 

The  safeguard  which  nature  has  thrown  out  against  over¬ 
production  is  by  constituting  certain  periods  of  woman’s  life 
seasons  of  sterility.  Before  the  age  of  nubility,  during  preg¬ 
nancy,  and  after  the  change  of  life,  they  are  always  barren. 
During  nursing  most  women  are  so,  but  not  all.  Some  even 
continue  their  monthly  change  at  this  time.  There  is  no 
absolute  certainty  that  a  woman  will  not  conceive  then,  though 
the  probability  is  against  it. 

A  so-called  agenetic  or  sterile  period  exists  between  each 
monthly  change,  during  the  continuance  of  which  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  female  to  conceive.  This  branch  of  our  sub¬ 
ject  has  attracted  much  attention  of  late  years  from  its  practi¬ 
cal  character,  but  the  conclusions  reached  have  so  far  not  been 
as  satisfactory  as  we  could  wish.  The  present  views  of  the 
most  expert  physiologists  are  thus  summed  up  by  Dr.  Dalton, 
of  New  York,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  treatise  on  Human 
Physiology :  “  Intercourse  is  more  liable  to  be  followed  by 
pregnancy  when  it  occurs  about  the  menstrual  epoch  than  at 
other  times.  This  fact  was  long  since  established  as  a  matter 
of  practical  observation  by  practical  obstetricians.  The 
exact  length  of  time,  however,  preceding  and  following  the 
menses  during  which  impregnation  is  still  possible,  has  not 
been  ascertained.  The  spermatic  fluid,  on  the  one  hand, 
retains  its  vitality  for  an  unknown  period  after  coition,  and 
the  egg  for  an  unknown  period  after  its  discharge.  The 


PERIODS  OF  STERILITY. 


191 


precise  extent  of  the  limit  of  these  occurrences  is  still  uncertain, 
and  is  probably  more  or  less  variable  in  different  individuals.” 

Those  therefore  who  would  take  advantage  of  this  natu¬ 
ral  law  can  do  no  better  than  confining  themselves  to  a  few 
days  intervening  about  midway  between  the  monthly  epochs. 

We  are  most  decidedly  of  opinion  that  it  is  proper  and 
right  under  some  circumstances  for  married  people  to  avab 
themselves  of  these  provisions  of  our  economy,  and  in  this* 
opinion  we  are  supported  by  a  large  number  of  divines, 
philosophers,  and  physicians.  For  example,  when  the  wifq 
is  distinctly  suffering  from  over-much  child  bearing ;  when 
the  children  are  coming  so  rapidly  that  they  interfere  with 
each  other’s  nutrition  ;  when  a  destructive  hereditary  disease 
has  broken  out  after  marriage  ;  and  when  the  wife  cannot 
bear  children  without  serious  danger  to  her  life. 

Those  who  coincide  with  us  here  may  urge  the  objection, 
and  it  is  a  partially  valid  one,  that  the  observation  of  these 
natural  periods  of  sterility  does  not  answer  the  end  in  view  ; 
that  they  are  uncertain  and  inadequate.  They  are  so  to 
some  degree,  but  we  believe  them  to  be  much  more  reliable 
than  they  are  generally  supposed. 

The  next  refuge  is  to  renounce  entirely  the  conjugal  privi¬ 
lege.  This  is  a  perfectly  allowable  and  proper  course,  if  it 
be  with  mutual  consent.  St.  John  Chrysostom,  the  eminent 
father  of  the  Greek  Church,  called  Clirysostomos  or  the 
Golden  Mouth  for  his  eloquence,  expressly  states  that  the 
early  Christians  did  not  consider  it  amiss.  The  objection 
now-a-days  urged  against  it  is  that  it  is  too  severe  a  pre¬ 
scription,  and  consequently  valueless.  This  ought  not  to  be. 
A  man  who  loves  his  wife  should,  in  order  to  save  that  wife 
overwork,  and  misery,  and  danger  of  death,  and  wretchedly 
constituted  children,  be  able  and  willing  to  undergo  as  much 
self-denial  as  every  one  of  his  continent  bachelor  acquaint- 


192 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


ances  does,  not  out  of  high  devotion,  but  for  motives  of 
economy,  or  indifference,  or  love  of  liberty.  The  man  who 
cannot  do  this,  or  does  not  care  to  do  it,  does  not  certainly 
deserve  a  very  high  position. 

But  while  all  this  is  granted,  the  question  is  still  con¬ 
stantly  put :  Is  this  all  ?  Is  there  no  means  by  which  we 
can  limit  our  families  without  either  injuring  the  health,  or 
undergoing  a  self-martyrdom  which  not  one  man  in  a  thou¬ 
sand  will  submit  to  ? 

There  are  dozens  and  scores  of  means  if  one  might  be¬ 
lieve  the  indecent  advertisements  which  are  inserted  by  un¬ 
scrupulous  knaves  in  country  newspapers.  We  warn  against 
them  as  fraudulent  and  deceptive.  Most  of  the  artificial 
means  proposed  for  this  purpose,  and  we  have  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  extensively  vended,  can  none  of  them  be  used  constantly 
without  either  failing  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  or  sowing 
the  seeds  of  disease.  Many  of  them  are  in  the  highest 
degree  injurious  and  reprehensible,  and  are  certain  to  destroy 
health. 

The  habit  of  uncompleted  intercourse  which  many  adopt 
must  be  disapproved  on  the  same  grounds.  It  does  violence 
to  nature,  and  is  liable  to  bring  about  premature  loss  of 
virility,  and  serious  injury  to  the  nervous  system. 

It  is  a  doubtful  question  whether  any  of  the  appliances 
of  art  recommended  for  this  purpose,  even  if  they  are  inno¬ 
cent  in  regard  to  health,  are  morally  to  be  approved.  Whether 
under  some  rare  and  exceptionable  circumstances,  as  when 
women  conceive  during  nursing,  or  are  incapable  of  bearing 
children  with  safety  to  life,  such  means  are  permissible  or 
not,  must  be  left  for  the  medical  attendant  to  determine,  and 
he  alone  must  bear  the  responsibility  of  affirming  or  refusing 
to  affirm  the  practice.  But  in  the  majority  of  marriages, 
where  the  avoidance  of  children  is  sought  merely  to  save 


A  NATIONAL  QUESTION. 


193 


expense  or  trouble,  or  to  give  greater  room  for  freedom  and 
selfish  pleasure,  the  resort  to  such  means  must  be  unequivo¬ 
cally  condemned. 

We  may  be  criticized,  as,  indeed,  we  have  been,  for  refer¬ 
ring  to  this  delicate  and  difficult  subject  at  all.  But,  as  the 
Rev.  John  Todd  pointedly  remarks  in  an  article  on  this  very 
topic :  “  If  there  be  indelicacy,  it  is  in  the  facts,  not  in  calling 
attention  to  them.”  “  It  has  become  the  fashion,”  says  that 
distinguished  clergyman,  “  for  parents  to  be  leading  round  a 
solitary,  lonely  child,  or  possibly  two,  it  being  well  understood, 
talked  about,  and  boasted  of,  that  they  are  to  have  no  more. 
The  means  to  prevent  it  are  well  understood  instrumentalities 
shamelessly  sold  and  bought,  and  it  is  a  glory  that  they  are 
to  have  no  more  children.”  This  is  sadly  true,  especially  in 
the  cities  and  large  towns  of  this  country. 

Its  results  are  even  more  conspicuous  in  France.  Dr. 
Bergeret,  a  prominent  physician  in  one  of  the  provincial 
towns  of  that  country,  draws  a  striking  picture  of  the  de¬ 
moralization  it  has  brought  about.  He  shows  how  the  bonds 
of  public  morality  have  been  loosened,  the  sacred  institution 
of  marriage  converted  into  legal  prostitution,  woman  sunk  in 
respect,  man  yielding  to  unnatural  debauches,  losing  his 
better  impulses  to  plunge  into  sensuality,  diseases  and  debility 
gaining  ground,  the  number  of  births  constantly  decreasing, 
and  the  nation  itself  incurring  the  danger  of  falling  a  prey  to 
its  rivals  through  a  want  of  effective  soldiers.  The  picture 
is  a  gloomy  one,  and  is  probably  but  little  overdrawn. 

If  it  is  true  that  the  native  American  population  is  actually 
dying  out,  and  that  year  by  year  the  births  from  couples  born 
in  this  country  are  less  in  proportion  than  those  from  couples 
one  or  both  of  whom  are  of  European  birth,  as  many  have 
asserted,  then  we  must  seek  the  explanation  of  this  startling 
fact  either  in  a  premature  decay  of  virility,  or  a  naturally 


194 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


diminished  virility  in  middle  life  in  the  husbands,  or  to  an 
increased  tendency  to  sterility  in  the  wives,  or  else,  and  this 
has  been  the,  perhaps,  hasty  conclusion  of  most  writers,  we 
must  suppose  there  is  a  deliberate  and  wide-spread  agreement 
between  those  who  are  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony,  that 
American  women  shall  be  childless  or  the  next  thing  to  it. 

Sometimes  this  is  secured  by  the  prevention  of  conception. 
This,  when  it  is  accomplished  by  any  other  means  than  the 
observation  of  the  natural  periods  of  sterility  conjoined  with 
abstinence,  is  not  to  be  sanctioned  as  a  rule. 

But  wThen  resort  is  had,  as  it  frequently  is,  to  the  prac¬ 
tice  of 


Criminal  Abortion, 

then  no  language  is  too  severe  for  its  condemnation. 

We  need  not  here  rehearse  what  others  have  said  upon 
this  topic,  and  what  we  ourselves  have  spoken  concerning  it 
with  no  uncertain  sound.  But  there  is  one  element  in  this 
crime  which  we  wish  here  to  bring  prominently  forward.  It 
is  the  responsibility  which  the  husband  has  in  its  commission. 

It  is  useless  to  deny  or  to  conceal  the  fact  that  in  very 
many  instances  the  husband’s  dislike  of  a  large  family,  com¬ 
bined  with  his  unwillingness  to  practise  self-denial  in  regard 
to  his  appetites,  is  the  motive  which,  beyond  all  others,  in¬ 
duces  the  wife  to  visit  the  fashionable  Aborter,  and  to  destroy 
the  fruit  of  her  womb  and  imperil  her  own  life  and  health. 
This  cowardice  and  brutality  on  his  part  cannot  anywhere 
find  an  excuse.  As  Dr.  Horatio  R.  Storer  observes  in  his 
Is  It  I?— 

“  In  a  very  large  proportion  of  cases,  this  shocking  and 
atrocious  act  is  advised  and  abetted,  if  not  compelled  by 
the  husband. 

“  For  the  woman,  enfeebled  perhaps  by  too  excessive 


SEXES  AT  WILL. 


195 


diild-bearing,  for  which  her  husband  is  generally  wholly 
responsible,  for  few  of  our  wives  do  not  become,  sooner  or 
later,  virtually  apathetic;  for  the  woman,  timid,  easily 
alarmed,  prone  to  mental  depression  or  other  disturbance, 
and  dreading  the  yet  safe  and  preferable  labor  that  awaits 
her,  there  is  a  certain  measure  of  excuse.  For  her  husband, 
none.” 

This  flagrant  abuse  is  not  confined  to  immoral  circles  of 
society,  nor  to  the  corrupt  atmosphere  of  our  great  com¬ 
mercial  centres,  but  extends  into  remote  country  hamlets, 
and  throughout  all  grades  of  social  life.  We  call  upon  our 
readers  by  example  and  precept  to  do  their  utmost  to  stem 
its  devastating  tide,  and  at  least  in  their  own  families,  and 
among  their  friends,  to  mete  its  due  reprobation. 

Its  worst  effects  are  not  seen  in  marriage,  though  no  phy¬ 
sician  is  ignorant  how  many  women  in  the  community  suffer 
from  the  vile  “  French  pills”  and  “  female  regulators”  hawked 
about,  as  well  as  from  rude  instruments  in  awkward  and  un¬ 
feeling  hands.  But  it  is  in  the  impunity  which  the  vicious 
believe  they  enjoy,  the  temptation  to  indulge  in  lustful  and 
illegitimate  liaisons ,  the  weakening  of  virtue,  that  its  most 
serious  consequences  are  manifest. 

The  laws  in  several  of  our  States  on  this  subject  are  se¬ 
vere.  In  New  York  it  is  a  penitentiary  offence  to  perform, 
or  to  obtain,  or  to  aid  in  obtaining  an  abortion.  But  yet, 
such  is  the  boldness  of  vice,  that  in  the  New  York  city  pa¬ 
pers  scores  of  advertisements  of  professional  abortionists  may 
any  day  be  seen  ! 

On  the  Production  of  the  Sexes  at  Will. 

It  is  often  a  matter  of  the  utmost  interest  in  families  to 
have  a  child  of  a  particular  sex.  There  is  always  a  disap* 


196 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


pointment  in  having  a  number  of  children  all  either  boys 
or  girls.  The  father,  as  a  rule,  takes  greater  interest  in  his 
daughters,  the  mother  in  her  sons.  The  ideal  family  is  com¬ 
posed  of  some  of  each  sex. 

Now  we  believe  that  we  are  not  asserting  prematurely  a 
scientific  discovery,  when  we  confidently  say  that  the  law 
which  governs  the  production  of  the  sexes  has  been  ascer¬ 
tained  ;  and  that,  with  a  due  allowance  for  certain  elements 
of  uncertainty,  and  they  few  in  number,  persons  can  have 
either  a  daughter  or  a  son  as  they  prefer. 

What  is  more,  this  law  is  not  confined  to  the  human  race, 
but  extends  throughout  all  those  species  of  animals  technic¬ 
ally  known  as  oviparous,  or  which  reproduce  by  means  of  an 
egg,  whether  this  egg  is  deposited  without  the  body  or  ma¬ 
tured  within  it.  And  as  stock-raisers,  bird  fanciers,  bee  mer¬ 
chants,  and  all  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  the  various  kinds 
of  domestic  animals,  often  would  give  a  great  deal  to  have  it 
in  their  power  to  breed  either  sex  at  will,  we  shall  give  such 
details  of  the  extent  and  workings  of  this  law  as  to  put  it  in 
their  power,  in  the  large  majority  of  cases,  to  obtain  either 
males  or  finales  as  they  prefer. 

The  ' b-scoverer  of  this  law  wras  a  French  veterinary  sur¬ 
geon,  Prof.  Thury,  of  the  Academy  of  Geneva.  He  studied 
with  particular  care  the  sex  of  the  offspring  with  reference 
to  the  date  of  conception.  Of  course,  in  mares,  bitches,  cows, 
and  the  other  domesticated  animals,  this  could  be  ascertained 
without  any  doubt.  He  found  that  when  the  male  was  given 
at  the  first  signs  of  heat  in  the  female,  the  result  was  a  fe¬ 
male  ;  but  when  the  male  was  given  at  the  end  of  the  heat, 
the  result  was  male  offspring.  With  hens  the  eggs  first  laid 
after  the  tread  gave  females,  those  laid  subsequently,  males. 
The  eggs  first  laid  by  the  queen  bee  yielded  females,  those 
laid  later,  males. 


REPORT  OF  A  STOCKRAISER.  19T 

1  certified  report  to  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Canton 
do  Vaud,  Switzerland,  made  in  1867,  reports  the  result  of  a 
careful  testing  of  Professor  Thury’s  law  in  the  following 
Words  : — 

“  On  twenty-two  successive  occasions  I  desired  to  have 
heifers.  My  cows  were  of  the  Schurtz  breed,  and  my  bull  a 
pure  Durham.  I  succeeded  in  these  cases.  Having  bought 
me  a  pure  Durham  cow,  it  was  very  important  to  me  to  have 
a  new  bull,  to  supersede  the  one  I  had  bought  at  great  ex¬ 
pense,  without  leaving  to  chance  the  production  of  a  male. 
Accordingly  I  followed  the  advice  of  Prof.  Thury,  and  the 
success  has  proven  once  more  the  correctness  of  his  law.  I 
have  obtained  from  my  Durham  bull  six  more  bulls  for  field¬ 
work  ;  and  having  chosen  cows  of  the  same  color  and  height, 
I  obtained  perfect  matches  of  oxen. 

“  In  short,  I  have  made  in  all  twenty-nine  experiments 
after  the  new  method,  and  in  every  one  I  succeeded  in  the 
production  of  what  I  was  looking  for — male  or  female.  I  had 
not  one  single  failure.  All  the  experiments  have  been  made 
by  myself  without  any  other  person’s  intervention ;  conse¬ 
quently  I  do  declare  the  law  discovered  by  Professor  Thury 
to  be  real  and  accurate.” 

Much  other  evidence  from  recent  writings  on  the  rearing 
of  domestic  animals  could  be  adduced  to  justify  the  opinion 
of  this  reporter.  On  a  number  of  stock  farms  in  France, 
England,  and  this  country,  experiments  have  been  conducted 
which  show  that  there  is  much  that  we  can  depend  upon  in 
Professor  Thury’s  law.  Certain  exceptions  and  apparent 
contradictions  have  also  been  noted,  and  some  objections  on 
theoretical  grounds  have  been  urged.  For  instance,  Dr. 
Waldeyer,  of  Breslau,  in  his  recent  able  work  on  the 
“Ovary  and  Ovum,”  opposes  Thury’s  hypothesis  on  the 
ground  that  the  ovum,  for  some  time  after  fecundation,  is  in 


if 98  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

a  certain  sense  a  hermaphrodite ;  in  other  words,  the  elements 
which  go  toward  the  formation  of  the  sexual  organs  are 
alike  in  all.  But  as  neither  Waldeyer  nor  any  one  else  has 
been  able  to  say  what  mysterious  something  it  is  that  finally 
decides  the  development  of  these  elements  into  the  peculiar 
organs  of  the  one  or  the  other  sex,  his  objection  falls  to  the 
ground.  It  is  quite  likely  to  be  something  in  the  ovum 
itself,  dependent  upon  the  length  of  time  it  has  left  the 
ovisac,  as  Thury  asserts. 

Some  curious  facts  may  be  explained  by  this  theory.  We 
referred  on  an  earlier  page  to  the  statistical  observation  that 
more  male  than  female  children  are  born.  This  would  seem 
to  be  because  the  time  when  the  ovum  can  produce  a  female 
is  limited  to  a  few  days  of  its  earlier  independent  existence  ; 
while  all  the  rest  of  its  life  it  can  lead  to  a  male.  If  we  take 
a  large  number  of  observations,  it  will  be  seen  that  when 
the  husband  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  older  than  his 
wife,  most  of  the  children  will  be  boys.  This  again  is  because 
the  conjugal  rights  are  more  rarely  exercised  by  men  of  ad¬ 
vanced  years,  and  the  limited  time  just  referred  to,  when  the 
ovum  can  become  a  female,  is  skipped  more  frequently. 

Observations  in  the  human  subject  on  this  point  are  of 
course  vastly  more  uncertain  and  liable  to  error  than  in  the 
lower  animals.  Nevertheless,  a  sufficient  number  have  been 
recorded  to  remove  any  reasonable  doubt  that  it  holds  good 
with  man,  as  it  does  with  the  inferior  animals. 

Physicians  constantly  observe  that  if  labor  comes  a  few 
days  before  “  full  term,”  or  just  at  term,  the  child  is  more 
likely  to  be  a  female  ;  but  if  labor  is  delayed  beyond  term, 
which  is  the  same  as  saying  if  the  conception  took  place 
quite  a  number  of  days  after  the  cessation  of  menstruation, 
then  it  is  more  likely  to  be  a  boy. 

Several  physicians,  interested  in  satisfying  themselves  on 


UNCERTAINTIES  MENTIONED. 


199 


this  important  topic,  have  noted  the  occurrences  in  their  own 
families,  and  published  the  results  in  medical  journals.  So 
far  as  these  have  come  to  our  notice,  they  are  uniformly  in 
support  of  Thury’s  law. 

There  remains  an  uncertainty  as  to  the  precise  time  at 
which  the  human  ovum  loses  its  power  of  producing  the 
female  sex  in  the  foetus.  For  reasons  very  readily  under, 
stood,  the  study  of  this  subject  is  surrounded  with  difficulties. 
Moreover,  it  may  well  be  that  a  difference  in  this  respect 
exists  in  ova  and  in  individuals. 

There  is  also  a  liability  to  error  from  a  want  of  exact 
knowledge  on  our  part  as  to  how  long  the  male  element  re- 
mains  active  after  it  is  removed  from  the  body  and  before 
it  comes  into  contact  with  the  ovum  of  the  female.  Should 
this  indeterminate  period  extend  over  several  days,  as  it  is 
highly  probable  that  it  does,  it  will  readily  be  understood 
that  an  error  in  the  application  of  the  rule  might  result. 

A  third  possibility  of  error  arises  from  some  uncertainty 
as  to  whether  the  act  of  menstruation  in  the  human  female  is 
strictly  analogous  to  and  coincident  with  the  process  of  ovu¬ 
lation.  AVhile  there  is  no  question  that  the  external  sign, 
and  the  general  congestion  arise  from  the  maturation  of  an 
ovum,  it  is  not  yet  known  whether  this  ovum  is  discharged 
from  the  sac  in  which  it  has  been  ripening,  at  the  commence¬ 
ment,  during  the  course,  at  the  termination,  or  immediately 
subsequent  to  the  presence  of  the  monthly  symptoms.  Au¬ 
thorities  differ  on  this,  and  it  is  most  probable  that  their 
disagreement  is  to  be  explained  by  supposing  that  there  is 
no  fixed  time  for  the  discharge  of  the  ovum.  Consequently 
we  are  at  a  loss  to  estimate  exactly  the  age  of  the  ovum  at 
any  given  period  after  menstruation. 

We  have  been  careful  to  note  all  these  elements  of  error 
in  adopting  Thury’s  law,  because  we  believe  his  discovery  to 


200 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


be  one  of  vast  importance,  and  well  established  in  the  inferior 
species ;  and  in  its  application  to  the  human  race,  it  were  to 
be  regretted  if  a  few  disappointments,  which  may  readily 
be  explained,  should  lead  to  its  rejection.  As  a  general  rule, 
we  consider  ourselves  perfectly  safe  in  saying  that  the  earlier 
conception  takes  place  after  the  menstrual  flow  has  ceased, 
the  greater  is  the  probability  that  the  offspring  will  be 
female ;  and  the  further  removed  from  that  period  (always 

m 

omitting  four  or  five  days  anterior  to  the  following  monthly 
illness),  the  more  likely  is  it  that  the  child  will  be  a  male. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  we  will  glance  at  one  obstacle 
which  has  stood  in  the  way  of  its  reception.  Some  have 
imagined  that  the  theory  of  M.  Thury  is  overthrown  by  the 
fact  that  twin  children  are  sometimes  of  different  sex.  But 
this  is  an  argument  founded  on  our  ignorance.  We  do  not 
know  at  all  positively  that  the  conception  of  both  these 
beings  took  place  at  the  same  time.  It  is  not  merely  possi¬ 
ble,  but  for  various  reasons  highly  probable,  that  days  inter¬ 
vened  between  the  commencement  of  life  in  the  one  and  in 
the  other.  '  So  this  fact,  too,  fails  to  militate  against  the 
general  law. 

[Authors  and  Works  referred  to  in  this  section. — Mar¬ 
shall,  Outlines  of  Physiology  ;  Dalton,  Human  Physiology  ;  Dr. 
Seguin,  On  the  Causes  of  Idiocy ,  N.  Y.  Medical  Journal,  1870; 
Dr.  Edward  Smith,  Cyclical  Changes  in  Health  and  Disease ; 
Acton,  Disorders  of  the  Reproductive  Organs ,  p.  105;  Hufeland, 
Art  of  Prolonging  Rife  ;  De  Brantome,  Vies  des  Dames  Galantes, 
Discours  I.  p.  35  ;  Raciborski,  R'  Age  Critique  chez  la  Femme ,  p. 
484  ;  Philadelphia  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter,  vol.  xix.  p. 
305  ;  Rev.  John  Todd,  The  Cloud  with  a  Dark  Ruling ;  Bergeret, 
Res  Fraudes  dans  V  Accompltssement  de  V  Acte  Genera, trice  ;  Dr. 
Hodge,  Criminal  Abortion,  1809  ;  Storer,  Criminal  Abortion ' 
Waldeyer,  Eierstock  und  Ei,  p.  152,  etc.] 


INHERITANCE. 


What  Fathers  Bequeath  Children. 

“  The  child  is  father  to  the  man,”  it  is  said.  We  are  not 
concerned  with  this  adage,  but  with  the  seemingly  self-evi¬ 
dent  axiom  that  “  the  man  is  father  to  the  child,”  in  a 
deeper  sense  than  in  being  his  immediate  ancestor.  The 
father  has  not  merely  transmitted  life  to  his  offspring,  but  he 
has  fixed  upon  him,  to  a  certain  extent,  his  mental  and 
physical  peculiarities,  and  even  his  moral  nature.  The  child 
does  not,  of  course,  always  exactly  resemble  its  father.  In¬ 
deed,  the  father’s  influence  is  less  potent  than  the  mother’s; 
but  it  is  a  constant  ever-present  force  in  the  child’s  being 
which  often  writes  with  “  pen  of  adamant  on  tablet  of  brass.” 
Let  us  then  study,  briefly  though  it  may  be,  the  laws  and 
limitations  of  that  heritage  which,  in  the  language  of  a  dis¬ 
tinguished  physiologist,  “  has,  in  reality,  more  power  over 
our  constitution  and  character  than  all  the  influence  from 
without,  whether  moral  or  physical.” 

We  will  first  consider 

The  Physical  Qualities  we  Inherit, 

particularly  from  our  fathers.  It  is  not  difficult  to  prove 
that  physical  qualities  are  transmitted.  We  need  not  give 
instances  of  resemblances  in  form  and  feature  between  father 
and  child,  for  they  are  matters  of  daily  observation  to  every 
one.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  male  influence  is 

(201) 


202 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


noticeable  even  in  plants,  for  through  the  pollen  of  flowers 
the  tints  and  varieties  may  be  modified  at  will. 

The  influence  of  the  father  is  most  marked  in  the  exterior 
and  extremities  of  the  child,  while  the  internal  organs  ema¬ 
nate  from  the  mother.  The  father  is  most  apt  to  determine 
the  muscular  organization,  the  mother  the  nervous  system 
and  temperament.  This  law  is  not  an  absolute  one.  The 
mule  and  hinny  afford  illustrations  of  its  operation  in  the 
animal  kingdom.  The  mule  brays,  while  the  hinny  neighs. 
The  mule  derives  its  muscular  structure  from  its  sire,  the 
ass,  and,  therefore,  has  his  voice,  for  the  voice  is  determined 
by  the  muscular  organization  of  the  part.  The  hinny,  on 
the  contrary,  which  has  the  muscular  system  of  its  sire,  the 
horse,  like  him,  neighs. 

The  influence  of  the  father  varies  also  with  the  sex  of  the 
child.  The  tendency  seems  to  be  for  him  to  transmit  to  his 
daughters  the  conformation  of  the  head  and  upper  portions 
of  the  body.  His  sons  are  more  prone  to  derive  the  form  of 
these  parts  from  the  mother.  Hence  it  happens,  as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  remark  presently  in  speaking  of  mental 
qualities  which  are  inherited,  that  daughters  partake  more 
frequently  than  sons  do  of  the  intellectual  peculiarities  of  the 
father. 

Fathers  not  merely  give  the  muscular  organization  to  their 
offspring,  but  also  the  force  and  agility  acquired  by  training. 
Thus,  in  ancient  times,  the  athletes  were  found  in  families. 
In  the  case  of  animals  celebrated  racers  are  known  as  valu¬ 
able  breeders.  Eclipse  is  said  to  have  been  the  sire  of 
334  winners,  who  secured  for  their  owners  the  amount  of 
$800,000.  King  Herod,  a  descendant  of  Flying  Childers, 
begot  497  winners.  Unknown  horses,  which  have  unex¬ 
pectedly  won  great  races,  have  always  been  proved,  upon 


THE  FATHER’S  LEGACY. 


20$ 


examination,  descendants,  through  many  generations,  of  first/ 
rate  ancestors. 

Stature  is  often  hereditary.  The  giant  Chang,  who  was, 
until  recently,  on  exhibition  in  London,  is  eight  feet  six 
inches  in  height.  His  father  was  nine  feet  high.  The  tall 
guards  of  Frederick  William  of  Prussia  were  for  fifty  years 
quartered  at  Potsdam.  That  place  is  now  remarkable  for 
the  numerous  gigantic  figures  met  in  its  streets.  They  are 
the  offspring  of  the  guards  and  the  women  of  the  city. 

Peculiarities  of  the  sense  of  taste  are  in  many  cases  the 
effects  of  inheritance.  In  this  manner  Montaigne  accounted 
for  his  inveterate  dislike  for  physic  and  physicians.  One  of 
his  ancestors  when  dangerously  ill  and  assured  that  if  he  did 
not  suffer  himself  to  be  treated,  he  would  die,  replied  “  Je 
suis  doncques  mort.”  Montaigne  asserts  that  his  dislike  for 
medicines  was  directly  traceable  to  this  ancestor.  Louis 
XIY.  was  excessively  fond  of  the  pleasures  of  the  table. 
All  his  children  were  markedly  voracious  and  gluttonous. 

Longevity  is  a  family  trait.  Sobriety,  and  a  regard  for 
the  principles  of  hygiene,  will  not  necessarily  insure  long 
life.  These  may  maintain  a  condition  of  health  and  vigor, 
but  length  of  life  is  largely  determined  by  inheritance. 
Longevity  is  a  talent.  It  may  be  improved  like  any  other 
talent,  or  it  may  be  wasted,  but  no  amount  of  cultivation 
will  create  it.  In  spite  of  intemperance  and  exposure,  a 
man  who  has  this  talent  for  long  life  may  become  a  centena¬ 
rian.  A  saddler,  aged  113,  whose  grandfather  died  at  112, 
and  his  father  at  113,  was  asked  by  Louis  XIY.  what  he 
had  done  to  attain  to  such  length  of  days,  he  replied :  “  Sire, 
since  I  was  50,  I  have  acted  upon  two  principles :  I  have 
shut  my  heart  and  opened  my  wine  cellar.”  Again,  Golom- 
brewski,  a  Pole,  notwithstanding  the  hardships  of  eighty 
years  of  service  as  a  common  soldier,  the  fatigues  of  thirty 


204  THE  TRANSMISSION  OE  L1EE. 

five  campaigns  under  Napoleon,  the  sufferings  of  the  terrible 
Russian  campaign,  the  effects  of  five  wounds,  and  the  reck¬ 
lessness  of  a  soldier’s  life,  survived,  and  in  1846  was  still  living 
at  the  age  of  102.  But,  it  is  to  be  observed,  his  father 
attained  the  age  of  121,  and  his  grandfather  130.  A  well- 
known  literary  character,  M.  Quersonnikres,  was  living  in 
1842  in  the  full  possession  of  all  his  powers.  He  said :  “  My 
family  descends  from  Methuselah ;  we  must  be  killed  to  die  ; 
my  maternal  grandfather  was  killed  by  accident  at  125  years 
of  age,  and  I,”  he  added,  smiling,  “  invite  you  to  my  burial 
in  the  next  century.”  The  experience  of  life  insurance  and 
annuity  companies  has  made  so  apparent  the  influnce  of 
heritage  over  longevity,  that  facts  bearing  upon  this  point 
in  the  family  history  have  much  weight  in  the  calculations 
of  the  actuary. 

Deformities  are  often  transmitted  from  father  to  son 
through  many  generations.  Edward  Lambert,  called  the 
Porcupine  man,  is  an  illustration.  He  was  first  exhibited 
before  the  Royal  Society,  England,  in  the  year  1731,  at  the 
age  of  fourteen.  The  whole  surface  of  his  body  was  covered 
with  a  peculiar  horny  or  bristly  growth,  “  looking  and  rus¬ 
tling  like  the  bristles  or  quills  of  a  hedgehog  shorn  off 
within  an  inch  of  the  skin.  When,  twenty-six  years  after, 
he  was  again  presented  at  the  Royal  Society,  he  was  still 
covered  by  the  same  bristles.  In  the  mean  time  he  had  had 
Bmallpox,  followed  by  a  temporary  loss  of  his  scaly  covering, 
which  was  soon,  however,  renewed.  He  had  been  married, 
and  had  had  six  children,  each  of  whom,  at  nine  weeks  of 
age,  like  himself,  began  to  assume  this  rugged  coat.  Sub¬ 
sequently,  it  is  on  record  that  three  grandsons  of  the 
original  porcupine  man,  Edward  Lambert,  were  shown  in 
Germany  with  the  cutaneous  incrustation  above  described. 

In  this  connection  an  interesting  question  arises  :  Are  tin 


USEFUL  RULES. 


205 


results  of  accidents  inheritable  ?  As  a  rule,  they  are  not 
Authentic  instances  are  not  wanting,  which  might  readily 
De  cited,  showing  that  this  rule  has  its  exceptions.  But  the 
natural  tendency  is  fortunately  against  the  propagation  of  a 
physical  injury.  Thus,  although  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are 
visited  upon  their  children,  their  misfortunes  are  not. 

For  what  purpose  have  we  brought  forward  the  above 
facts  in  regard  to  inheritance  ?  Merely  because  of  their  re¬ 
lation  to  the  important  question  of  prevention.  It  is  this 
alone  which  concerns  the  father  who  reads  these  pages,  in¬ 
fluenced  by  one  of  the  noblest  of  all  human  motives,  the 
desire  to  benefit  his  offspring.  Such  a  one  wishes  above  all 
to  know 

How  to  avoid  having  Diseased  and  Deformed 

Children. 

The  father’s  care  over  the  health  of  his  child  should  begin 
before  its  birth,  nay,  before  its  conception.  Proper  attention 
then  may  avert  taints  of  the  system  which,  once  implanted, 
no  medical  skill  can  eradicate.  The  truth  of  this  statement 
is  recognized  by  breeders  of  animals.  Mr.  Youatt,  one  of 
the  best  authorities  upon  the  breeding  of  horses,  observes, 
“  The  first  axiom  we  would  lay  down  is  this,  like  will  pro¬ 
duce  like ;  the  progeny  will  inherit  the  qualities  or  the 
mingled  qualities  of  the  parents.  We  would  refer  to  the 
subject  of  diseases,  and  state  our  perfect  conviction  that  there 
is  scarcely  one  by  which  either  of  the  parents  is  affected  that 
the  foal  will  not  inherit,  or,  at  least,  the  predisposition  to  it ; 
even  the  consequences  of  ill-usage  or  hard  work  will  des¬ 
cend  to  the  progeny.  We  have  had  proof  upon  proof  that 
blindness,  roaring,  thick  wind,  broken  wind,  curbs,  spavins, 
ring-bones,  and  founder  have  been  bequeathed  both  by  the 
sire  and  the  dam  to  the  offspring.  It  should  likewise  be 


206 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


recollected  that,  although  these  blemishes  may  not  appeal 
in  the  immediate  progeny,  they  frequently  will  in  the  nexi 
generation.  Hence  the  necessity  of  some  knowledge  of  the 
parentage  both  of  the  sire  and  dam.” 

The  influence  of  one  parent  upon  the  other  in  counter 
acting  or  intensifying  the  degree  and  the  certainty  with 
which  the  physical  qualities  of  one  or  both  are  transmitted 
must  be  borne  in  mind.  If  the  same  defects  be  possessed 
by  each  parent  they  will  be  quite  certain  to  appear  in  the 
children.  If  only  one  parent  be  affected,  some  or  all  of  the 
children  may  escape  the  inheritance.  Take,  in  illustration, 
that  most  common  of  all  diseases,  consumption.  If  husband 
and  wife  both  have  this  affection,  all  of  the  offspring  will  be 
quite  certain  to  be  consumptive  or  scrofulous.  If  one  of  the 
parents  be  healthy,  it  is  possible  that  only  some  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  will  be  scrofulous,  and  even  that  none  of  them  will 
inherit  the  disease.  It  is  most  fortunate  that  the  tendency 
of  a  disease  to  propagate  itself  by  inheritance  is  often  over¬ 
powered  by  the  stronger  tendency  of  a  vigorous  constitution  to 
impress  itself  upon  the  offspring.  If  it  were  possible  to  apply 
this  principle  to  its  fullest  extent  in  every  individual  case, 
by  never  mating  a  feeble  constitution  excepting  with  one  of 
that  healthful  vigor  best  calculated  to  counteract  its  trans¬ 
mission,  the  heritage  of  disease  would,  doubtless,  soon  be 
unknown.  While  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  absolute 
rule  of  conduct,  and  useless  to  hope  that  any  such  rule  would 
be  generally  followed,  even  if  enunciated,  it  behooves  every 
man  to  know,  be  he  strong  or  weak,  that,  for  the  reason  just 
mentioned,  he  may  marry  a  woman  who  will  bear  him 
healthy  children,  whereas  his  children  by  another  woman 
may  be  doomed.  The  responsibility  and  risk  are  his  own. 
We  can  only  indicate  them. 

We  have  also  words  of  cheer  to  utter  in  regard  to  the 


THE  LAW  LIMITED. 


207 


descent  of  diseased  conditions  from  generation  to  generation. 
It  is  a  stern  fact  that  “  Our  fathers  have  sinned,  and  are  notj 
and  we  have  borne  their  iniquities.”  But  disease  is  not 
eternal.  The  offspring  of  sinning  fathers  are  not  without  all 
hope.  The  counteracting  influence  of  one  parent  over  the 
other  with  transmission  of  life,  of  which  we  have  just  spoken, 
does  much  to  maintain  healthful  vitality  and  beauty  in  spite 
of  the  degrading  tendencies  which  may  be  present.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  however,  there  is  a  force  resident  in  our  nature  by 
which  the  diseased  organization  tends  to  return  to  health. 
This  benign  healing  force,  this  vix  medicatrix , 

“  Which  hath  an  operation  more  divine 

Than  breath  or  pen  can  give  expression  to,” 

is  ever  influencing  the  effects  of  inheritance.  Were  it  not 
for  this  beneficent  law  the  human  race  would  rapidly  degene¬ 
rate.  The  results  of  its  operation  can  be  seen  in  the  faces 
of  the  children  of  squalor  and  vice  who  throng  the  narrow 
streets  and  wretched  houses  of  our  crowded  cities.  If,  hap¬ 
pily,  time  had  not  purified  the  debased  organization  and 
restored  health,  we  should  look  in  vain  there  for  that  comeli¬ 
ness  of  features,  grace  of  figure,  and  strength  of  limb  which 
are  now  frequently  to  be  observed.  As  has  been  truly  said, 
“  the  effects  of  disease  may  be  for  a  third  or  fourth  genera¬ 
tion,  but  the  laws  of  health  are  for  a  thousand.” 

The  law  of  inheritance  is  a  certain  but  not  an  invariable 
one.  Its  force  must  not  be  over-estimated.  For  if  it  were 
always  true  that  the  child  of  a  father  tainted  with  insanity 
or  consumption  is  born  with  these  affections,  then  moral  law 
would  imperatively  forbid  marriage.  It  is  known  that  the 
offspring  of  a  father  who  has  too  many  or  two  few  fingers 
sometimes  escapes  the  transmission,  when  both  parents  have 
not  been  similarly  affected.  As  the  child  inherits  from  the 


JJ08  THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 

mother  as  well  as  the  father,  many  or  all  the  members  of  the 
family  of  a  tainted  father  may  be  born  with  only  a  slight 
taint  of  the  system,  or  none  at  all. 

We  shall  now  point  out  a  few  of  those  diseases  which  are 
especially  liable  to  be  transmitted  from  parent  to  child,  with 
the  view  of  indicating  special  means  of  preventing,  before 
and  after  birth,  the  effects  of  inheritance. 

The  most  cruel  of  all  the  maladies  which  afflict  us,  pulmo¬ 
nary  consumption ,  is  the  one  which  is  most  constantly  seen 
in  its  hereditary  form.  Dr.  Theophilus  Thompson,  an  English 
physician  of  very  large  hospital  experience,  states,  in  his 
“  Clinical  Lectures  on  Pulmonary  Consumption,”  that  “  you 
will  learn,  amongst  a  thousand  patients  questioned  on  the  sub¬ 
ject,  above  one-fourth  will  mention  having  lost  a  parent  by  it.” 

Again,  M.  Herard  and  M.  Y.  Cornil,  two  of  the  latest 
and  most  prominent  of  the  French  authorities  on  this  subject, 
mention  as  the  result  of  their  investigations,  both  in  hospital 
and  private  practice,  that  out  of  one  hundred  cases  carefully 
questioned,  they  find  the  disease  hereditary  in  thirty-eight 
instances.  American  statistics  tell  the  same  story  of  the 
large  proportion  of  consumptives  born  with  the  taint. 

The  mother  more  frequently  transmits  this  disease  to  the 
child  than  the  father.  Her  daughters  are  also  more  apt  to 
be  affected  by  it,  through  her,  than  are  her  sons.  Indeed,  in 
regard  to  all  diseases,  the  morbid  constitution  of  the  mother 
tends  to  impress  itself  upon  her  daughters  rather  than  her 
sons,  while  that  of  the  father  has  a  reverse  hereditary  ten¬ 
dency.  With  reference  to  the  inheritance  of  mental  qualities 
and  peculiarities,  the  opposite  inclination  seems  to  prevail, 
as  we  have  seen,  mothers  most  influencing  their  sons,  fathers 
their  daughters. 

That  terrible  and  invincible  foe  to  human  life,  cancer ,  is  a 
markedly  hereditary  affliction.  Where  the  taint  exists, 


THE  INHERITANCE  OF  INSANITY. 


209 


medical  art  has  few  resources  either  to  prevent  its  trans¬ 
mission  or  to  antagonize  its  effects. 

Gout ,  asthma,  and  disease  of  the  heart  are  also  trans* 
missible.  They  are  not,  of  course,  exclusively  the  result  of 
inheritance.  They  are  often  developed  during  the  lifetime 
of  individuals  whose  family  record  is  a  clear  one.  But  once 
having  made  their  appearance  in  a  family,  they  have  a 
greater  or  less  proneness  to  recur. 

Of  all  the  affections  which  are  transmitted  by  inheritance, 
the  various  disorders  of  the  nervous  system  are  the  most 
common.  Hysteria,  epilepsy,  paralysis,  and  insanity 
descend  from  the  unhappy  parents  to  the  more  unhappy 
offspring.  Physicians  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  the 
study  of  that  many-sided  malady,  insanity,  are,  of  late, 
disposed  to  lay  more  stress  than  formerly  upon  the  influence 
of  inheritance  in  its  causation.  They  allege  that  a  vast 
number  of  the  cases  commonly  attributed  to  physical  or 
moral  shocks  are  really  instances  of  the  breaking  out  of  an 
inherited  tendency,  which  has  lurked  unheeded  in  the  system 
until  aroused  by  some  unusual  excitement.  According  to 
the  best  authorities,  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  all  attacks 
of  insanity  owe  their  origin  to  hereditary  causes. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  peculiarity  of  nervous  ailments,  that 
they  are  not  always  transmitted  in  the  same  form.  The 
child  of  a  person  subject  to  epilepsy,  for  example,  is  as  liable 
to  be  paralyzed  or  insane  as  it  is  to  be  epileptic.  This 
change  in  the  character  of  the  nervous  affection,  in  passing 
from  the  one  generation  to  the  other,  is  constantly  met  with. 

Insanity  furnishes  another  illustration  of  the  greater 
disease-transmitting  power  of  the  mother.  It  is  transmitted 
about  one-third  times  oftener  by  her  than  by  the  father. 
Again,  also,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  greater  influence 
of  the  mother  over  the  diseases  of  her  daughters  ;  for.  when 


210 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE, 


the  mother  is  insane,  it  does  not  affect  the  sons  any  more 
than  insanity  in  the  father  would,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
danger  of  the  daughters  is  double  what  it  would  be  if  the 
father,  instead  of  the  mother,  were  the  affected  parent. 

The  hereditary  diseases  of  which  we  have  been  speaking 
do  not  always  show  themselves  immediately  after  birth.  It 
is  more  usual,  in  fact,  for  them  to  lie  hidden  until  the  period 
of  adolescence  or  maturity  is  attained.  Scrofulous  complaints, 
however,  manifest  themselves  in  the  offspring  earlier.  The 
time  at  which  a  disease  will  first  make  its  appearance  is 
frequently  as  much  a  matter  of  inheritance  as  its  other  cha¬ 
racteristics.  This  is,  above  all,  true  of  nervous  disorders. 
For  instance,  that  form  of  insanity  which  is  developed  only 
after  a  certain  age  is  often  inherited.  A  case  is  related  of 
a  noble  family  in  Europe,  all  the  male  descendants  of  which 
became  insane  at  forty  years  of  age.  Up  to  that  epoch  in 
their  lives  they  all  exhibited  great  military  talent,  and  were 
entirely  trustworthy  in  every  respect.  At  last  there  re¬ 
mained  but  one  son,  a  distinguished  officer  like  his  father. 
The  critical  age  arrived,  and  he  also  lost  his  reason. 

The  immunity  occasionally  seen  to  the  invasion  of  disease 
is  capable  of  inheritance.  Some  individuals  can  never 
acquire,  no  matter  how  exposed,  certain  diseases,  such,  for 
example,  as  smallpox  or  intermittent  fever.  The  happy  secu¬ 
rity  may  be  transmitted. 

% 

The  Laws  of  Inheritance  in  Disease. 

Undoubtedly,  judicious  marriages  would  eradicate  al> 
hereditary  affections.  Legislation  upon  this  subject  is,  of 
course,  impracticable.  Yet  its  importance  demands  for  it 
the  closest  attention  from  the  philanthropist  and  the  moralist. 
The  moral  and  social  responsibility  incurred,  by  marrying 


PRACTICAL  RULES. 


211 


into  a  family  of  which  one  or  more  members  have  suffered 
from  constitutional  disease,  is  great,  and  should  not  be  lightly 
assumed.  Some  general  rules  for  the  guidance  of  those 
contemplating  such  a  union  may  prove  useful  to  a  few  at 
least  of  our  readers.  Dr.  J.  M.  Winn,  an  English  physician, 
who  has  elaborately  studied  the  nature  and  treatment  of 
hereditary  disease,  has  drawn  up  an  estimate  of  the  amount 
of  risk  incurred  under  various  circumstances,  as  follows  : — - 

“  1.  If  there  is  a  constitutional  taint  in  either  father  or 
mother,  on  both  sides  of  the  contracting  parties,  the  risk  is 
so  great,  as  to  amount  almost  to  a  certainty  that  their 
offspring  would  inherit  some  form  of  disease. 

“  2.  If  the  constitutional  disease  is  only  on  one  side,  either 
directly  or  collaterally  through  uncles  or  aunts,  and  the 
contracting  parties  are  both  in  good  bodily  health,  the  risk  is 
diminished  one-half,  and  healthy  offspring  may  be  the  issue 
of  the  marriage. 

“  3.  If  there  have  been  no  signs  of  constitutional  disease  for 
a  whole  generation,  we  can  scarcely  consider  the  risk  mate¬ 
rially  lessened,  as  it  so  frequently  reappears  after  being  in 
abeyance  for  a  whole  generation. 

“  4.  If  two  whole  generations  have  escaped  any  symptoms 
of  hereditary  disease,  we  may  fairly  hope  that  the  danger 
has  passed,  and  that  the  morbific  force  has  expended  itself.” 

Hygienic  Treatment  of  Hereditary  Diseases. 

As  the  precautionary  rules  which  medical  science  has  to 
offer  are  in  many  cases  unknown,  and  in  more  numerous 
instances  unheeded,  injudicious  marriages  are  constantly 
being  formed.  Children  are  therefore  daily  born  into  tha 
world,  with  dispositions  more  or  less  marked  towards  heredi 
tary  affection.  Much  may  even  yet  be  done  to  stay  the 


212 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


mischief  commenced.  Efforts  to  maintain  the  health  of  such 
infants  cannot  be  instituted  too  early.  By  intelligent  care, 
continued  through  life,  the  appearance  of  the  disease  may  be 
suppressed,  and  in  some  cases  the  predisposition  eradicated. 

The  first  attention  should  be  directed  to  the  nourishment 
of  such  an  infant.  It  should  not  be  brought  up  by  hand. 
If  it  cannot  be  suckled  by  the  mother,  it  must  be  placed  at 
the  breast  of  a  healthy  nurse.  The  child  should  be  warmly 
clad,  and  carried  daily  in  the  open  air.  unless  the  weather  be 
inclement.  The  use  of  the  bath  and  other  requisites  to 
infantine  health  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  This  constant 
watchfulness  over  the  well-being  of  the  child  should  not  be 
remitted  during  the  whole  period  of  youth.  Great  care 
ought  also  to  be  taken  not  to  overexcite  the  brain  by 
encouraging  precocious  exhibitions  of  talent.  Active  play 
m  the  open  air  with  romping  companions,  will  do  more  for 
the  future  of  the  child  than  any  knowledge  it  can  at  an 
early  age  acquire  with  books.  Much  harm  is  done  by  com¬ 
petitive  examinations  about  the  period  of  puberty.  This  is 
especially  the  case  in  those  inheriting  a  disposition  to  epi¬ 
lepsy  or  consumption.  These  diseases  are  at  this  age  most 
liable  to  appear,  and  the  intense  application  and  undue 
anxiet j  which  attend  such  examinations  may  develop  them 
Those  disposed  to  hereditary  afflictions  should  extend  their 
care  of  themselves  even  to  the  choice  of  their  avocation. 
Such  pursuits  as  are  sedentary  and  exposed  to  the  debilitating 
influence  of  impure,  in-door  air  are  to  be  avoided.  So  also 
are  those  which  require  at  times  exhaustive  mental  or  bodily 
exertion.  Regular  exercise  in  the  open  air,  by  walking  or 
riding,  is  of  the  utmost  moment  every  day.  Where  there  is 
a  tendency  to  consumption,  epilepsy,  or  insanity,  it  is  par- 
ticularly  valuable,  and  can  do  more  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed  to  avert  them. 


WHAT  IS  ATAVISM  7 


21? 


Dr.  Winn  speaks  in  strong  terms  of  the  value  of  cod-livei 
oil  as  a  preventive  remedy  in  inherited  dispositions  to 
disease.  It  is  to  be  taken  in  small  quantities  (a  teaspoonful 
three  times  a  day  is  ordinarily  sufficient).  It  must  be  com 
tinued  for  such  a  long  period  of  time  as  to  become  a  cus¬ 
tomary  portion  of  daily  food. 

We  might  dwell  much  longer  upon  the  nature,  prevention, 
and  treatment  of  hereditary  disease,  as  we  have  not  exhausted 
the  subject.  But  have  we  not  said  enough  to  impress  upon 
the  reader  the  prominence  which  it  ought  to  occupy  in  tho 
hygiene  of  the  marriage  relation  ? 

As  a  rule,  diseases  are  transmitted  directly  from  the 
parents  to  the  children,  thence  to  the  grandchildren,  and  so 
on  uninterruptedly  from  generation  to  generation.  In  some 
cases  the  transmission  takes  place  from  the  grandparents  to 
the  grandchildren,  one  generation  escaping  altogether.  This 
resemblance  of  a  child  to  its  grandparents  or  great-grand¬ 
parents,  rather  than  its  own  father  or  mother,  is  known  under 
the  scientific  name  of  atavism. 

It  is  owing  to  this  influence  that  diseases  and  deformity,  as 
well  as  strength  and  beauty,  pass  by  one  generation  to  appear 
in  another.  A  child  resembles  in  form  or  feature  its  grand¬ 
father,  or  it  inherits  the  epileptic  fits  or  the  consumption  for 
which  its  grandfather  is  remem1:  Bred,  the  father  being 
entirely  healthy.  A  remarkable  instance,  which,  however, 
is  not  solitary,  of  the  influence  of  atavism  is  related  by  the 
celebrated  anthropologist,  Dr.  Pritchard.  A  black  woman, 
the  wife  of  a  black  man,  had  a  white  child.  In  great  fear  of 
her  husband  because  of  this,  to  her,  unaccountable  occur¬ 
rence,  she  tried  to  conceal  the  child  from  him.  When  he 
saw  it  and  noticed  her  trepidation,  he  said  :  “  You  are  afraid 
of  me  because  my  child  is  white,  but  I  love  it  the  better  fo* 


214 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


that,  for  my  own  father  was  a  white  man,  though  my  grand- 
father  and  grandmother  were  both  as  black  as  you  and 
myself ;  and  although  we  came  from  a  place  where  no  white 
people  were  ever  seen,  yet  there  was  always  a  white  child  in 
every  family  that  was  related  to  us.” 

Another  manner  in  which  disease  may  appear  in  the 
children  through  parental  influence  has  been  well  pointed 
out  by  Dr.  Elam.  “  The  parents  may  be  free  from  disease, 
yet  produce  unhealthy  children,  owing  probably  to  some 
unfitness  in  the  union ;  these  affections  stamp  themselves  as 
hereditary,  by  affecting  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  members  of 
the  family.  Sir  Henry  Holland  mentions  a  family  consisting 
of  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom  had  a  paralytic 
attack  before  the  age  of  forty-five,  though  neither  of  the 
parents  had  suffered  from  anything  similar;  and  another  of 
a  family  where  four  children  died  in  infancy  from  affections 
of  the  brain,  without  any  of  the  relations  having  been  so 
affected.  I  am  acquainted  with  a  large  family,  ail  of  whom 
suffered  when  young  from  enlarged  tonsils,  and  almost  all 
of  whom  are  short-sighted  in  the  extreme,  though  neither 
father  nor  mother  have  experienced  either  inconvenience. 
At  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  School  in  Manchester  there  were,  in 
1837,  forty-eight  children  taken  from  seventeen  families,  of 
which  the  whole  numbe.  children  was  one  hundred  and 
six ;  amongst  these,  only  one  parent  was  known  to  have  been 
similarly  affected.” 

The  likeness  of  a  child  to  its  grandparents  rather  than  to 
its  immediate  parents  is,  although  a  noteworthy  fact,  one 
which  does  not  excite  much  comment  from  us.  But  when,  as 
is  sometimes  the  case,  the  child  partakes  of  the  characteristics 
of  a  very  remote  ancestor  or  of  the  traits  of  some  far  re¬ 
moved  representative  of  a  collateral  line,  descended  from  a 
tommon  progenitor,  then  a  feeling  of  astonishment  arises. 


EXTRAORDINARY  EXAMPLES.  215 

Such,  examples  are,  however,  only  illustrations  of  the  law  of 
atavism  just  mentioned. 

The  physical  characteristics  of  the  age  of  the  parent  at 
the  time  of  conception  are  transmitted.  Maturity  reproduces 
itself.  The  stag,  when  born  of  mature  parents,  grows  faster 
and  stronger  than  when  born  of  young  parents.  Old  age  is 
inherited.  Breeders  of  animals  are  well  aware  of  the  inferior 
character  of  the  progeny  of  old  parents.  The  children  ot 
parents  far  advanced  in  years  are  peculiarly  prone  to  senile 
affections,  and  from  birth  bear  the  marks  of  senility.  Dr. 
Prosper  Lucas,  a  French  author  who  wrote  a  work  of  1562 
pages  on  the  subject  of  inheritance,  gives  among  others  the 
following  illustrations  of  the  above  remarks. 

“  The  wife  of  one  of  the  coachmen  of  Charles  X.  became, 
to  the  surprise  of  himself,  her  husband,  and  her  children, 
who  were  thirty  or  forty  years  old,  enceinte  at  sixty-five  years 
of  age.  Her  pregnancy  followed  the  usual  course,  but  the 
child  presented  all  the  marks  of  the  senility  of  the  parents. 

“Marguerite  Cribsowna,  who  died  in  1763,  aged  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  eight  years,  was  married  for  the  third  time  when 
aged  ninety-four,  to  a  man  aged  one  hundred  and  five.  From 
this  union  were  born  three  children,  who  were  living  at  the 
death  of  their  mother  ;  but  they  had  gray  hair  and  no  teeth  ; 
they  lived  only  upon  bread  and  vegetables.  They  were 
sufficiently  tall  for  their  age  but  had  the  stoop,  the  withered 
complexion,  and  all  the  other  signs  of  decrepitude.” 

While  speaking  of  the  physical  effects  of  inheritance  wt > 
cannot  forbear  to  notice  a  form  of  bodily  weakness  impressed 
upon  certain  social  classes  by  transmission.  Mr.  Whitehead, 
a  writer  upon  “  Hereditary  Diseases,”  says 

“  The  offspring  of  parents,  both  possessing  great  intellectual 
capacities,  are  liable  to  inherit  such  capacities  in  still  greater 
proportion ;  but  along  with  this  refinement,  so  to  speak,  of 


2K5 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


the  cerebral  faculties,  is  usually  conjoined  a  degree  of  physical 
delicacy,  or  of  disproportionate  development,  which  con 
stantly  endangers  organic  integrity ;  and  the  peril  is  further 
increased  if  education  be  urged,  in  early  life,  beyond  a  certain 
limit.  The  mind  which  seemed  capable  of  comprehending 
intuitively  the  most  abstract  problem,  is  soon  shaken  and 
unbalanced,  merging  at  length  into  insanity. 

The  Mental  Qualities  we  Inherit. 

We  have  hitherto  been  concerned  merely  with  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  physical  qualities  by  inheritance.  Are  mental 
peculiarities,  is  talent,  is  genius  itself,  ever  inherited  ?  We 
answer  that  there  is  undoubtedly  a  marked  tendency  to  the 
transmission  of  not  merely  original  but  of  acquired  intellec¬ 
tual  traits,  the  effects  of  education.  No  man  of  talent  was 
ever  born  of  an  idiot.  Mental  imbecility  is  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation.  Haller,  the  physiologist,  mentions 
two  ladies  of  high  birth,  but  nearly  imbecile,  who  we.e  mar¬ 
ried  for  their  wealth.  At  the  time  he  wrote,  a  century 
afterward,  the  same  low  grade  of  intellectual  developmen  . 
was  conspicuous  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  generations. 

That  talent  is  often  the  offspring  of  talent  is  shown  by  the 
two  Herschels,  the  two  Coleridges,  the  two  Sheridans,  the 
two  Colemans,  the  two  Montesquieus,  the  two  Pitts,  the  two 
Foxes,  the  two  Scalagers,  the  two  Yossiuses,  the  two 
Mirabeaus,  the  three  Adams,  the  Kemble  family,  the  fami¬ 
lies  of  John  Sebastian  Bach  and  Aeschylus,  etc.  etc. 
But  it  may  be  said,  the  fact  that  talent  is  not  the  offspring 
of  talent  is  shown  by  Shakspeare’s  children,  and  Milton’s 
daughters ;  by  the  feeble  son  of  the  great  Oliver  Cromwell ; 
by  the  only  son  of  Addison,  an  idiot;  by  the  -  unworthy 
Paralus  and  Xanthippus  who  sprung  from  Pericles  the 


GENIUS  IS  UNFRUITFUL. 


21] 


orator  that  “carried  the  weapons  of  Zens  upon  his  tongue 
by  the  idiotic  Milesius  and  the  stupid  Stephanus,  the  only 
representatives  of  the  weighty  intellect  of  Thucydides ;  by 
the  absence  of  inheritors  of  Henry  IV.  and  Peter  the  Great, 
and  by  other  instances  which  will  readily  occur  to  the  reader, 
The  explanation  of  such  facts  is  to  be  found  in  the  superior 
transmitting  power  of  one  parent  over  another.  It  has  been 
clearly  proved  as  a  law  of  heritage  that  the  father  does 
transmit  his  mental  powers  to  his  cl  Udren.  The  exceptions, 
such  as  vve  have  quoted,  do  not  invalidate  this  law.  They 
■only  bring  into  prominence  the  great  modifying  influence 
of  the  mother.  The  persistency  of  the  male  power  is  appa¬ 
rent  in  the  fact  that  a  line  of  male  parents  may  impress  their 
peculiarities  upon  their  male  issue,  notwithstanding  the  op¬ 
posing  influence  of  many  mothers.  Francis  Galton,  an  English 
writer,  who  has  given  much  attention  to  this  subject,  has 
accumulated  an  overwhelming  array  of  facts  in  proof  of  the 
hereditary  character  of  talent.  In  this  connection  Dr.  Elam 
calls  attention  to  “  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note  concern, 
ing  the  scale  of  intellectual  development,  viz.,  that  the  err. 
tremes  are  solitary ,  i.  e.,  do  not  transmit  their  characteristic. 
The  lowest  grade  of  intellect,  the  perfect  idiot,  is  unfruitful ; 
the  highest  genius  is  unfruitful,  as  regards  its  psychical 
character  :  true  genius  does  not  descend  to  posterity ;  there 
may  be  talent  and  ability  in  the  ancestry  and  in  the  descend¬ 
ants,  directed  to  the  same  pursuits  even  ;  but  from  the  time 
that  the  development  culminates  in  true  genius,  it  begins  to 
wane.  I  am  acquainted  with  a  family  descended  in  the  third 
generation  from  a  true  musical  genius.  Of  the  numerous 
branches,  scarcely  one  is  deficient  in  some  amount  of  musical 
taste  and  ability,  but  none  have  a  shadow  of  the  genius  of 
the  grandfather.” 

Unsoundness  of  mind  is  markedly  under  the  domain  of 


218 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


inheritance.  Dr.  Henry  Mandsley,  now  probably  the  best 
authority  upon  this  subject,  states  that  the  most  careful  re¬ 
searches  fix  the  proportion  of  cases  of  insanity,  in  which 
positive  hereditary  taint  is  detectable,  at  not  lower  than  one- 
fourth,  if  not  so  high  as  one-half.  He  thinks  the  proportion 
will  be  found  to  be  greater  as  investigation  in  this  direction 
becomes  more  searching  and  exact. 

In  order  that  a  predisposition  to  insanity  be  inherited  it 
is  not  necessary  that  the  parents  or  ancestors  be  insane. 
Nervous  diseases  are  not  always  transmitted  in  their  identity 
to  the  offspring.  Physical  peculiarities  are,  as  we  have 
mentioned,  so  also  are  organic  diseases.  Consumption  is 
transmitted  to  the  child  as  consumption,  not  in  the  shape  of 
a  predisposition  to  cancer.  But  many  of  the  affections  of 
the  nervous  system,  such  as  insanity,  epilepsy,  St.  Titus’ 
dance,  hysteria,  neuralgia,  and  catalepsy,  change  their  cha¬ 
racter  in  the  descendant.  Thus,  the  child  of  an  epileptic 
may  be  insane,  and  the  child  of  an  hysterical  woman  have 
the  like  misfortune.  We  wish  here,  however,  to  draw  a  dis¬ 
tinction  which  it  is  of  hygienic  moment  to  bear  in  mind. 
The  inheritor  of  the  predisposition  to  insanity  may  not  become 
insane.  He  inherits  merely  the  temperament.  One  of  seve¬ 
ral  fates  may  overtake  him.  Insanity  may  immediately 
result  in  consequence  of  the  inherited  taint.  It  may  be 
postponed  indefinitely  by  intelligent  care  of  mind  and  body. 
It  may  be  developed  by  injudicious  training,  by  excessive 
mental  application  in  early  youth,  by  anxiety,  by  cruel  treat¬ 
ment  ;  or  it  may  be  awakened  by  the  great  changes  which 
occur  in  the  system  at  the  period  of  puberty ;  or,  in  woman, 
at  the  time  of  child-bearing,  or  the  change  of  life. 

Intoxication  is,  all  authorities  agree,  a  great  cause  of 
mental  degeneracy  in  the  unfortunate  offspring.  This  heri- 
&ge  of  drunkenness  is  one  of  the  most  startling  problems 


THE  DRUNKARD’S  LEGACY. 


219 


connected  with  intemperance.  For,  as  has  been  truly  said, 
“  not  only  does  it  affect  the  health,  morals,  and  intelligence 
of  the  offspring  of  its  votaries,  but  they  also  inherit  the 
fatal  tendency ,  and  feel  a  craving  for  the  very  beve¬ 
rages  which  have  acted  as  poisons  on  their  system  from 
the  commencement  of  their  being  /”  It  is  known  that 
drunkenness  may  be  hereditary  in  a  family  for  centuries 
In  spite  of  the  influence  of  example  and  careful  training, 
the  children  of  drunkards  become  precocious  inebriates. 
They  say,  “We  can’t  help  it;  the  love  we  inherit  is  too 
strong  for  us.”  One  such  bound  himself  to  abstinence  for 
months ;  then  he  could  withhold  no  longer,  avowing  that 
the  craving  ivas  actual  torture ,  and  he  could  not  help  him¬ 
self.  M.  Morel,  who  has  investigated  this  subject  more  pro¬ 
foundly  than  any  living  writer,  says :  “  I  have  never  seen 
the  patient  cured  of  his  propensity  whose  tendencies  to 
drink  were  derived  from  the  hereditary  predisposition 
given  to  him  by  his  parents.”*  The  whole  nature  of  the 
descendant  of  the  drunkard  is  depraved  under  the  influence 
of  this  fearful  inheritance.  The  annals  of  vice  teem  with 
illustrations  of  the  indecision  and  defective  moral  sense  of 
those  victims  to  the  alcoholic  abuse  of  their  fathers ;  while 
the  records  of  medicine  are  equally  full  of  cases  showing  the 

*Tbe  same  experienced  writer  says  elsewhere:  “I  constantly 
find  the  sad  victims  of  the  alcoholic  intoxication  of  their  parents 
in  their  favorite  resorts  {milieux  de  predilection) ,  the  asylums  for 
the  insane,  prisons,  and  houses  of  correction.  I  as  constantly 
observe  amongst  them  deviations  from  the  normal  type  of  huma¬ 
nity,  manifesting  themselves,  not  only  by  arrests  of  development 
and  anomalies  of  constitution,  but  also  by  those  vicious  dispositions 
of  the  intellectual  order  which  seem  to  be  deeply  rooted  in  the  or¬ 
ganization  of  those  unfortunates,  and  which  are  the  unmistakable 
indices  of  their  double  fecundation  in  respect  of  both  physical  and 
moral  evil .  ” 

16 


220 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


constitutional  feebleness  and  the  nervous  disorders  produced 
in  successive  generations  by  the  same  influence.  Dr.  Hut¬ 
cheson,  in  remarking  upon  the  ineradicable  nature  of  an 
inherited  tendency  to  drink,  says  that  “  no  sooner  is  the 
patient  liberated  than  he  manifests  all  the  symptoms  of  the 
disease.  Paradoxical  though  the  statement  may  be,  such 
individuals  are  sans  only  when  confined  in  an  asylum.” 
Additional  testimony  to  the  same  effect  is  given  by  W. 
Collins,  who  testified  before  a  parliamentary  commission,  in 
England,  as  the  result  of  his  large  experience,  and  as  a  “well- 
established,  physical  fact,”  that  this  form  of  the  drunken 
appetite  “never  becomes  completely  extinct,  but  adheres  to  a 
man  through  life.”  All  the  writers  upon  the  subject  of  inhe¬ 
ritance,  with  a  singular  unanimity  upon  this  point,  no  matter 
how  they  may  differ  ufJon  other  topics,  agree  in  imputing 
to  intoxication,  in  either  parent,  a  potent  agency  in  inducing 
alcoholic  mania,  and  moral  and  physical  degradation  in  the 
children.  These  results  are  more  marked  among  the  poor, 
who  are  deprived  of  the  hygienic  advantages  which  fall  tC 
the  lot  of  the  rich,  and  who  are  also  surrounded,  ordinarily, 
by  fewer  social  and  moral  restraints.  None,  howreve?,  escape 
the  disastrous  influence,  in  some  of  its  many  protean  forms, 
upon  mind  and  body. 

Is  our  Moral  Nature  Inheritable? 

This  question  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  consideration 
of  the  hereditary  character  of  crime. 

Michel  de  Montaigne  was  a  profound  observer  of  man,  as 
well  as  a  genial  essayist.  One  of  his  papers  is  entitled  “  Of 
the  Resemblance  of  Children  to  their  Fathers.”  In  it  he  ex¬ 
presses  his  wonder  at  the  mysterious  nature  of  that  heritage 
which  transmits  to  us  not  merely  the  bodily  form,  but  even 


THE  LEGACY  OP  CRIME. 


221 


the  thoughts  and  inclinations  of  our  fathers.  A  much 
older  writer  than  he,  Aristotle,  also  alludes  to  the  transmis¬ 
sion  of  moral  qualities  by  inheritance.  He  tells  of  a  man 
who  excuses  himself  for  beating  his  father  by  saying  that, 
“  my  father  beat  his  father,  and  my  son  will  beat  me,  for  it 
is  in  our  family.”  History  is  rich  in  illustrations  of  moral 
heritage.  Alexander  YI.  and  his  children,  the  Borgias, 
will  ever  live  upon  its  pages  because  of  their  atrocities. 
The  crimes  of  the  Farnese  family  are  too  infamous  for  men¬ 
tion.  The  same  taint  of  wickedness  runs  through  the  cruel 
nature  of  the  Medici  and  the  Yicontes,  the  latter  of  whom 
are  accredited  with  the  invention  of  the  “  forty  days  tor¬ 
ture.”  Sextus  YI.  and  his  children  were  notorious  for  their 
crimes,  and  to  the  Cond6  family  have  been  attributed  in 
addition  to  their  courage  and  brilliant  intellect,  “odious 
vices  of  character,  malignity,  avarice,  tyranny,  and  inso¬ 
lence.” 

Modern  society  furnishes  us  with  an  example  and  a  proof 
of  the  hereditary  nature  of  crime  which  touches  us  more 
nearly.  There  exists  a  distinctive  criminal  class  in  all  our 
cities.  This  dangerous  class  is  marked  by  certain  physical 
and  mental  peculiarities.  These  so  distinguish  them  that 
they  can  be  readily  pointed  out  in  any  promiscuous  assem¬ 
bly.  Even  in  Shakspeare’s  time  this  was  possible.  In  Mac¬ 
beth,  one  of  the  murderers,  in  defending  his  fellows,  says : — 

“  We  are  men,  my  liege.” 

To  which  the  king  replies : — 

“  Ay,  in  the  catalogue  ye  go  for  men  ; 

As  hounds,  and  grayhounds,  mongrels,  spaniels,  curs, 
Shoughs,  water-rugs,  and  demi-wolves,  are  classed 
All  by  the  name  of  dogs  ;  the  valued  file 
Distinguishes  the  swift,  the  slow,  the  subtle, 

The  housekeeper,  the  hunter,  every  one 


222 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


According  to  the  gift  which  bounteous  nature 
Hath  in  him  clos'd  ;  whereby  he  does  receive 
Particular  addition,  from  the  bill 
That  writes  them  all  alike  ;  and  so  of  men.” 

Those  who  are  born  and  live  in  crime  are  all  marked  by 
the  same  traits  of  physical  degeneration,  as  well  as  mental 
and  moral  depravity.  The  truth  in  great  measure,  of  the 
assertion  of  Lemnius,  that  the  “  very  affections  follow  the 
seed,  and  the  malice  and  bad  conditions  of  children  are 
wholly  to  be  imputed  to  their  parents,”  is  also  shown  by  the 
family  histories  of  the  criminal  class.  It  would  be  easy  to 
fortify  this  statement  by  quotations  from  prison  reports,  for 
which,  however,  we  have  not  space. 

There  are  some  who,  while  they  do  not  pretend  to  deny 
the  inheritance  of  physical  infirmities  and  diseases,  still 
maintain  that  all  men  are  born  alike,  intellectually  and 
morally,  and  that  it  is  entirely  due  to  circumstances  and 
education  that  they  differ  from  each  other.  As  well  could 
they  uphold  the  d-  ctrine  that  all  men  are  born  with  equal 
tenacity  of  life,  and  vigor  of  constitution.  Such  thinkers 
hesitate  to  admit  the  heritage  of  immorality  because  they 
fear  that  the  admission  would  remove  the  check  of  individual 
responsibility.  They  forget  that  it  is  merely  the  tendencies 
which  are  inherited,  not  the  acts  themselves.  As  Dr.  Elam 
well  observes,  “man’s  freedom  is  not  obliterated,  but  he  is 
destined  to  a  life  of  more  or  less  strife  and  temptation,  ac¬ 
cording  as  his  inherited  dispositions  are  active  and  vicious, 
or  the  contrary.  Every  sane  man  knows  that,  despite  of 
allurements  or  temptation,  he  can  do  or  leave  undone  any 
given  act;  he  is  therefore  free ,  but  his  freedom  is  more  or 
less  invaded,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  under  considera¬ 
tion.”  How  true  then  is  it  that  “  it  is  the  greatest  part  of 
our  felicity  to  be  well  born ;  and  it  were  happy  for  human 


MENTAL  QUALITIES. 


223 


kind  if  only  such  parents  as  are  sound  of  body  and  mind 
should  marry.” 

We  have  given  instances  of  the  inheritance  of  gluttony 
and  intemperance,  and  of  families  remarkable  for  their  crimes 
of  violence.  Theft ,  among  other  crimes,  is  hereditary.  Dr. 
Steinase  says,  from  personal  observation,  he  has  known  it  to 

be  hereditary  for  three  generations.  A  man,  named  P - , 

acquired  in  his  native  village  the  sobriquet  of  “  The  thief.” 
His  son,  although  in  prosperous  business  and  beyond  want, 
was  remarkable  for  his  propensity  to  steal  small  things. 
His  son,  the  grandson  of  “  The  thief,”  when  only  three  years 
of  age,  would  clandestinely  take  more  food  than  he  could  eat; 
afterward  he  began  to  take  small  sums  of  money  and  soon 
larger  amounts.  Before  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age  he  had 
become  an  expert  pickpocket  and  was  confined  in  the  House 
of  Correction.  Pride  is  passed  down  from  father  to  son  ; 
the  Stuart  and  Guise  family  afford  illustrious  examples. 
Of  the  latter  it  has  been  said  that  “  all  the  line  of  the  Guises 
were  rash,  factious,  insolently  proud,  and  of  most  seducing 
politeness  of  manner.”  Cowardice,  jealousy,  anger,  envy, 
and  libertinage  are  all  met  with  as  family  traits.  The  pas¬ 
sion  of  avarice  is  no  exception  to  the  others  as  is  shown  by 
the  family  of  Charles  IV.,  that  emperor  of  Germany  of  whom 
it  has  been  wittily  recorded  that  he  “  vendait  en  detail  l’em- 
pire  qu’il  avait  achet6  en  gros.’”  There  is  also  such  a  thing 
as  an  hereditary  passion  for  gambling.  A  lady,  so  strongly 
addicted  to  gambling  that  she  passed  all  her  nights  at  play, 
died  of  consumption,  leaving  a  son  and  daughter,  both  of 
whom  inherited  from  her  alike  her  vice  and  her  disease. 

These  facts,  in  regard  to  the  inheritable  nature  of  our 
mental  and  moral  qualities  which  we  have  been  considering, 
suggest  to  every  thoughtful  mind  the  inquiry 


224 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Does  the  Education  of  the  Parents  affect  the 
Capacity  and  Morality  of  the  Child? 

We  have  elsewhere  asked,*  “  Can  virtuous  habits  be  trans¬ 
mitted  ?  Can  we  secure  virtues  in  our  children  by  possessing 
them  ourselves  ?”  And  we  have  replied,  that  “  we  are 
scarcely  more  than  passive  transmitters  of  a  nature  we  have 
received.’'  Nevertheless,  although  this  is  true  of  the  original 
nature,  there  are  certain  qualities  capable  of  being  super¬ 
imposed  upon  that  nature.  We  cannot  by  any  course  of 
virtue  beget  a  child  free  from  evil  tendencies,  but  we  can 
give  him  much  to  combat  them  through  the  virtuous  qualities 
of  civilization.  The  animal  nature  of  man  cannot  be  modified. 
It  is  invariably  transmitted.  It  is  always  the  same  in  the 
barbarian  and  the  enlightened  man.  But  moral  and  mental 
qualities  can  be  added,  which,  although  they  can  never  crush 
out  nor  wholly  obscure  the  animal  nature,  can  improve  upon 
it.  Unless  this  were  so,  unless  intellectual  and  moral  culture 
did  so  influence  not  only  the  individual  but  the  offspring,  and 
thus  through  future  generations  the  race,  then  the  educator 
would  have  to  say  with  Macbeth  : — 

“  Upon  my  head  they  placed  a  fruitless  crown, 

And  put  a  barren  sceptre  in  my  gripe.” 

Dr.  Moore,  a  high  authority,  remarks  :  “  Our  education  may 
be  said  to  begin  with  our  forefathers.  The  child  of  the 
morally  instructed  is  most  capable  of  instruction,  and  intel¬ 
lectual  excellence  is  generally  the  result  of  ages  of  mental 
cultivation.  From  Mr.  Kay  Shuttleworth’s  examination  oi 
juvenile  delinquents,  at  Parkhurst,  it  appears  that  the  ma¬ 
jority  were  deficient  in  physical  organization,  and  this,  no 
doubt,  was  traceable  to  the  parent  stock.”  Again,  M- 

*  The  Physical  Life  of  Woman,  p.  121. 


EDUCATION  AFFECTS  CHILDREN. 


k25 


Giran  says  that  ,c  acquired  capacities  are  transmitted  by- 
generation,  and  this  transmission  is  more  certain  and  per¬ 
fect  in  proportion  as  the  cultivation  has  extended  over  more 
generations,  and  as  that  of  one  parent  is  less  opposed  by 
that  of  the  other.  Children  receive  from  their  parents,  with 
the  impress  of  their  habits,  all  the  shades  of  capacity  apti¬ 
tude,  and  taste  which  have  been  the  fruit  of  such  habits.” 
The  eminent  physiologist,  Burdach,  also  accords  to  the 
parent  the  power  of  transmitting  to  his  offspring  his  intel¬ 
lectual  development. 

Inheritance  of  the  acquired  habits  of  life,  the  results  of 
intellectual  and  moral  training,  or  of  daily  vice,  is  more 
certain  than  the  transmission  of  physical  peculiarities.  A 
course  of  vicious  indulgence  in  the  parent  will  corrupt  the 
morals'  of  the  child.  A  life  of  virtue  on  the  part  of  the 
parent  will  bear  fruit  in  the  stronger  will  and  the  increased 
power  of  conscience  of  his  offspring.  He,  therefore,  whose 
avocation  it  is  to  cultivate  correct  principles  and  habits  of 
thought  in  his  fellow  men  holds  no  “  barren  sceptre.”  His 
influence,  above  that  of  all  others,  is  felt  upon  his  race 
through  many  generations. 

Before  dismissing  this  subject  of  moral  heritage,  which  we 
would  like  to  pursue  at  much  greater  length  if  our  space 
would  permit,  we  wish  to  say  a  few  more  words  in  regard  to 
its  bearing  upon  the  responsibility  and  accountability  of 
every  man  for  his  own  acts.  No  one  has  a  right  to  urge 
inherited  impulses  in  justification  of  his  evil  deeds.  To  do 
so  would  be  to  place  himself  on  a  level  with  the  brute.  Ani¬ 
mals  are  swayed  entirely  by  their  instincts.  Man  is  con¬ 
scious  of  a  higher,  a  moral  law,  the  dictates  of  which  he  has 
it  in  his  power  to  obey.  In  the  language  of  the  most  recent 
writer  upon  this  topic,  “  Every  man  is  responsible  for  his 
voluntary  acts,  whatever  the  constitutional  tendency.  In  the 


226 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


face  of  the  facts  before  us,  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  or  deny 
that  one  person  is  born  with  impulses  and  tendencies  to  par¬ 
ticular  forms  of  virtue  or  vice  stronger  than  those  of  others, 
who,  on  the  other  hand,  may  be  more  prone  to  other  forms 
of  good  or  evil  than  the  first.  The  passions  and  appetites 
are  doubtless  much  keener  and  more  difficult  of  control  in 
those  who  inherit  them  from  a  line  of  ancestry  who  have 
never  checked  them,  but  in  whom  vice  has  been  accounted  a 
glory  and  a  virtue.  It  is  much  easier  for  some  who  inherit 
a  placid,  even  temperament,  with  no  strong  emotions,  to  be 
outwardly  virtuous  and  orderly,  than  for  those  just  men¬ 
tioned,  but  all  have  it  in  their  power.  Habitual  selfish¬ 
ness,  disregard  of  the  rights  or  feelings  of  others,  immo¬ 
rality,  may  reduce  man  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  brute ;  the 
vicious  act  may  seem  to  be  due  to  irresistible  impulse,  but 
the  perpetrator  is  not  the  less  culpable  for  that,  lie  who 
wilfully  intoxicates  himself  that  he  may  commit  a  murder  is 
still  a  murderer,  and  one  of  the  deepest  dye  of  crime.  Life 
to  all  is  a  warfare,  to  some  it  is  much  more  severe  than  to 
others ;  but  all  may  fight  the  good  fight,  and  all  may  attain 
the  reward :  none  are  born  with  a  constitution  incapable  of 
virtue,  though  many  have  such  a  one  as  may  well  make  life 
one  long  struggle  against  the  power  of  temptations,  so  severe 
that  it  is  well  for  man  that  he  is  not  alone  in  the  mortal 
conflict.” 

Why  Children  do  not  more  closely  Resemble 

Parents. 

If  there  exists  in  nature,  and  that  there  does  is  abundantly 
proved,  a  law  by  which  the  offspring  so  strongly  tend,  as  we 
have  just  been  endeavoring  to  show,  to  inherit  the  physical, 
mental,  and  moral  natures  of  their  parent,  how  does  it  hap- 


EXCEPTIONS  EXPLAINED.  227 

pen  that  there  are  so  many  exceptions  to  be  noted  ?  In 
other  words,  what  are  the  causes  of  non-inheritance  ? 

We  have  already  mentioned  a  number,  to  which  we  need 
now  only  allude.  One  of  these  is  atavism,  i.  e.,  resemblance 
to  remote  instead  of  immediate  ancestors.  This  agency  we 
have  sufficiently  explained.  Another  is  the  neutralizing 
effect  of  the  qualities  of  one  parent  over  the  other  in  their 
mutual  transmission  to  the  child.  In  this  manner,  a  third 
being  may  be  produced,  unlike  either  parent.  A  third  cause 
is  the  overpowering  influence  of  hostile  circumstances  and 
unfavorable  conditions  of  life.  As  is  very  aptly  remarked 
by  Mr.  Darwin,  in  considering  animals  and  plants  under 
domestication,  “  no  one  would  expect  that  our  improved 
pigs,  if  forced  during  several  generations  to  travel  about  and 
root  in  the  ground  for  their  own  subsistence,  would  transmit, 
as  truly  as  they  now  do,  their  tendency  to  fatten,  and  their 
sliort  muzzles  and  legs.  Dray  horses  assuredly  would  not 
long  transmit  their  great  size  and  massive  limbs,  if  compelled 
to  live  in  a  cold,  damp,  mountainous  region  ;  we  have,  in¬ 
deed  evidence  of  such  deterioration  in  the  horses  which  have 
run  wild  in  the  Falkland  Islands.  European  dogs  in  India 
often  fail  to  transmit  their  character.  Sheep  in  tropical 
countries  lose  their  wool  in  a  few  generations.” 

A  fourth  check  to  inheritance  is  to  be  found  in  what  is 
known  as  the  “  law  of  diversity.”  In  obedience  to  this  law 
children  differ  from  their  parents  and  from  each  other.  This 
so-called  law  is,  however,  merely  an  illustration  of  the 
strength  of  inheritance,  for  its  effects  are  due  to  the  trans¬ 
mission  of  temporary  and  accidental  conditions  in  the  pa¬ 
rents.  There  is  always  under  such  circumstances  a  strong 
inclination  in  future  generations  to  depart  from  the  modifi¬ 
cations  thus  accidentally  produced,  and  to  return  to  the  ori¬ 
ginal  type. 


228 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


There  are  two  potent  influences  affecting  the  character  of 
the  child  to  which  we  have  made  no  allusion.  We  refer  to 
the  power  of  the  mother’s  imagination  over  the  physical  and 
mental  condition  of  her  unborn  infant,  and  to  the  influence 
of  the  mother’s  mind  on  the  child  at  her  breast.  These  sub¬ 
jects  have  been  elsewhere  discussed  in  treating  of  the  physi¬ 
cal  life  of  woman. 

We  do  not  think  it  worthwhile  to  “point  a  moral”  by 
applying  the  facts  and  principles  we  have  now  recorded 
about  inheritance,  to  the  life  of  the  parents.  Every  intelli¬ 
gent  reader  can  do  this  for  himself. 

Nor  is  it  our  purpose  to  prosecute  the  study  of  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  child  through  the  habits  of  the  father  beyond 
what  we  have  already  done. 

From  the  first  it  has  been  our  aim  to  impress  upon  our 
readers  the  momentous  truth  that  the  well-being  of  the  gene¬ 
rations  to  come,  and  consequently  the  destiny  of  races  and 
nations,  are  closely  dependent  on  the  healthy  condition  of 
the  male  in  his  sexual  relations.  We  have  now  traced  these 
relations  in  the  individual,  and  pointed  out  their  hygienic 
laws,  from  the  period  when  they  are  first  manifested  to  their 
final  effects  on  the  offspring. 

The  Influence  of  Race. 

Although  somewhat  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  work, 
which  is  concerned  with  the  health  of  the  individual  rather 
than  considerations  of  race,  we  cannot  forbear  to  quote  the 
thoughts  of  an  eminent  theologian,  Canon  Kingsley,  in 
reference  to  the  extent  and  power  of  hereditary  influences. 


INFLUENCE  OF  RACES. 


229 


“  Physical  science  is  proving  more  and  more  the  immense 
importance  of  race ;  the  importance  of  hereditary  powers, 
hereditary  organs,  hereditary  habits,  in  all  organized  beings, 
from  the  lowest  plant  to  the  highest  animal.  She  is  proving 
more  and  more  the  omnipresent  action  of  the  differences  be¬ 
tween  races ;  how  the  more  favored  race  (she  cannot  avoid 
using  the  epithet)  exterminates  the  less  favored,  or  at  least 
expels  it,  and  forces  it,  under  penalty  of  death,  to  adapt 
itself  to  new  circumstances  ;  and,  in  a  word,  that  competition 
between  every  race,  and  every  individual  of  that  race,  and 
reward  according  to  deserts,  is  (as  far  as  we  can  see)  an 
universal  law  of  living  things.  And  she  says — for  the  facts  of 
history  prove  it — that  as  it  is  among  the  races  of  plants  and 
animals,  so  it  has  been  unto  this  day  among  the  races  of 
men. 

“  The  natural  theology  of  the  future  must  take  count  of 
these  tremendous  and  even  painful  facts;  and  she  may  take 
count  of  them.  For  Scripture  has  taken  count  of  them 
already.  It  talks  continually — it  has  been  blamed  for  talk¬ 
ing  so  much — of  races,  of  families ;  of  their  wars,  their 
struggles,  their  exterminations ;  of  races  favored,  of  races 
rejected  ;  of  remnants  being  saved  to  continue  the  race  ;  of 
hereditary  tendencies,  hereditary  excellencies,  hereditary 
guilt.  Its  sense  of  the  reality  and  importance  of  descent  is 
so  intense,  that  it  speaks  of  a  whole  tribe  or  whole  family 
by  the  name  of  its  common  ancestor,  and  the  whole  nation 
of  the  Jews  is  Israel  to  the  end.  And  if  I  be  told  this  is 
true  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  not  of  the  New,  I  must 
answer,  What  ?  Does  not  St.  Paul  hold  the  identity  of  the 
whole  Jewish  race  with  Israel  their  forefather,  as  strongly 
as  any  prophet  of  the  Old  Testament  ?  And  what  is  the 
central  historic  fact,  save  one,  of  the  New  Testament,  but 


230 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


the  conquest  of  Jerusalem — the  dispersion,  all  but  destruc¬ 
tion  of  a  race,  not  by  miracle,  but  by  invasion,  because 
found  wanting  when  weighed  in  the  stern  balances  of  natural 
and  social  law  ? 

“  Gentlemen,  think  of  this.  I  only  suggest  the  thought ; 
but  I  do  not  suggest  it  in  haste.  Think  over  it — by  the 
light  which  our  Lord’s  parables,  His  analogies  between  the 
physical  and  social  constitution  of  the  world  afford — and 
consider  whether  those  awful  words,  fulfilled  then  and  ful¬ 
filled  so  often  since — ‘  The  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken 
from  you,  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits 
hereof’ — may  not  be  the  supreme  instance,  the  most  com¬ 
plex  development,  of  a  law  which  runs  through  all  created 
things,  down  to  the  moss  which  struggles  for  existence  on  the 
rock  ? 

“  Do  I  say  that  this  is  all  ?  That  man  is  merely  a  part 
of  nature,  the  puppet  of  circumstances  and  hereditary  ten¬ 
dencies  ?  That  brute  competition  is  the  one  law  of  his  life  ? 
That  he  is  doomed  forever  to  be  the  slave  of  his  own  needs, 
enforced  by  an  internecine  struggle  for  existence  ?  God 
forbid.  I  believe  not  only  in  nature,  but  in  grace.  I  be¬ 
lieve  that  this  is  man’s  fate  only  as  long  as  he  sows  to  the 
flesh,  and  of  the  flesh  reaps  corruption.  I  believe  that  if 
he  will 

‘  Strive  upward,  working  out  the  beast, 

And  let  the  ape  and  tiger  die 

if  he  will  be  even  as  wise  as  the  social  animals ;  as  the  ani 
and  the  bee,  who  have  risen,  if  not  to  the  virtue  of  all-em¬ 
bracing  charity,  at  least  to  the  virtues  of  self-sacrifice  and 
patriotism,  then  he  will  rise  to  a  higher  sphere ;  towards 
that  kingdom  of  God  of  which  it  is  written,  ‘  He  that 
dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him.’  ” 


AUTHORITIES. 


231 


|  Works  referred  to  in  thts  section. —  TheVariattons  of  Ani¬ 
mals  and  Plants  under  Domestication,  by  Charles  Darwin,  vol.  ii., 
p.  10  et  seq.  (Am.  edition);  J.  B.  Thompson,  L  R.  C.  S.  Edin., 
On  the  Hereditary  Nature  of  Crime,  in  the  Journal  of  Mental  Sci¬ 
ence  for  January,  1870,  p.  487 ;  Elam’s  Physician'' s  Problems  (Am. 
ed.,  1869),  article,  Natural  Heritage ;  Dr.  Edward  Seguin,  On 
Idiocy ,  as  the  Effect  of  Social  Evils,  and  as  the  Creative  Cause  of 
Physiological  Education ,  in  the  Journal  of  Psychological  Medicine 
for  January,  1870,  p.  1 ;  Francis  Gralton,  On  Hereditary  Talent 
and  Character ,  in  MacMillan’s  Magazine,  vol.  xii.  ;  Dr.  Prosper 
Lucas,  Traite  Philosophique  et  Physiologique  l'  Heredite  Naturelle 
dans  les  Etats  de  Sante  et  de  Maladie  du  Systeme  Nerveux  ;  Prit¬ 
chard,  Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of  Mankind,  vol.  ii.  ; 
Flourens,  De  la  Longevity  Humaine  et  de  la  Quantile  de  Vie  sur 
la  Globe,  (Paris,  I860)  ;  Hufeland,  Art  of  Prolonging  Life  (Am. 
ed.  1870)  ;  Lewes,  Physiology  of  Common  Life,  vol.  ii.  p.  314 
(Am.  ed.,  1867)  ;  The  British  Medical  Journal,  January  11,  1868, 
p.  25  ;  A.  Debay,  Hygiene  et  Physiologie  du  Mariage ,  p.  173  ; 
Carpenter,  Human  Physiology,  p.  779  (Am.  ed.)  ;  Mayer,  Des 
Rapports  Conjngaux,  cinquieme  edition,  Paris,  1868,  p.  381  ;  Sir 
Henry  Holland,  Medical  Notes  and  Reflections,  p.  30,  et  seq, 
American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences  July,  1865.1 


PART  IV. 


NERVOUS  DISORDERS  ORIGINATING  IN 
THE  MALE  GENERATIVE  SYSTEM. 

This  subject,  singularly  enough,  has  received  little  atten¬ 
tion  from  medical  writers.  There  have  been  no  popular 
works  of  any  merit  on  this  important  branch  of  medical 
science.  Even  in  the  text-books  of  surgery  there  is  scarcely 
more  than  a  brief  allusion  to  those  nervous  disorders  having 
their  origin  in  man’s  generative  system.  Far  otherwise  has 
it  been  with  the  diseases  peculiar  to  women.  During  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  the  ablest  minds  in  the  profession 
have  been  occupied  largely,  some  exclusively,  in  the  study 
of  their  nature  and  treatment.  Nor  have  there  been  want¬ 
ing  well-informed  and  popular  writers  to  diffuse  among 
wives  and  mothers  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  their 
organization,  and  to  point  out  to  them  the  methods  of  avoid¬ 
ing  the  infirmities  of  their  sex.  Thousands  have  thus  been 
benefited.  Equal  advantages  would  result  to  tlfC  male  sex 
from  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  causes  and  results  of  those 
diseases  to  which  they  alone  are  liable. 

We  are  glad  to  notice  that  attention  has  been  awakened 
to  the  great  need  of  popular  enlightenment  in  this  direction. 
One  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  English  medical  journals, 
the  London  Lancet ,  in  a  recent  series  of  editorials  on  this 
theme,  asserts  that  a  most  important  service  would  be  ren- 

(  233  ) 


234 


TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


dered  to  the  community  by  lifting  the  discussion  of  the 
consequences  of  derangements  of  the  specific  function  of 
mankind  “  out  of  the  mire  into  which  it  has  been  cast  by 
ignorance,  by  shametacedness,  and  by  greed.”  On  this  side 
the  Atlantic,  the  Philadelphia  Medical  and  Surgical  Re¬ 
porter  expresses  “  the  wish  that  some  skilled  writer  would 
dispel  a  little  of  the  dense  popular  ignorance  around  th^se 
subjects,  an  ignorance  which,  shared  as  it  is  by  parents, 
teachers,  and  professors,  prevents  them  from  giving  instruc¬ 
tions  to  their  sons  and  pupils,  by  which  the  latter  could  be 
saved  from  incalculable  pain,  mental  agony,  and  vice.” 

It  has  been  our  purpose  in  the  previous  pages  to  dwell  at 
some  length  in  treating  of  “  The  Celibate  Life”  upon  three 
of  the  principal  affections  to  which  the  unmarried  man  is 
more  especially  liable,  viz.,  the  consequences  of  the  solitary 
vice,  spermatorrhoea,  and  contagious  secret  disease.  But 
there  are  many  other  disorders  of  the  male  reproductive 
organs,  and  there  are  numerous  obscure  nervous  diseases 
which  are  set  up  and  continued  by  irritation  reflected  from 
these  parts.  Some  of  them  we  will  briefly  consider. 

Every  physician  is  acquainted  with  the  host  of  strange 
and  seemingly  remote  consequences  in  women  of  uterine  dis¬ 
ease.  In  dealing  with  any  affection  in  the  weaker  sex  he 
sees  the  necessity  of  inquiry  in  regard  to  the  health  of  this 
organ.  Too  often  he  overlooks  the  connection  almost  or 
quite  as  intimate  which  exists  between  the  nervous  and  gene¬ 
rative  systems  in  his  male  patients.  As  a  result  of  this 
neglect  treatment  is  often  nugatory. 

Dr.  Lewis  A.  Sayre,  of  New  York,  has  recently  recorded 
several  cases  of  partial  paralysis  due  to  the  unsuspected 
existence  of  generative  malformations.  When  this  able 
surgeon  remedied  the  local  trouble  the  paralysis  disappeared, 
although  it  had  previously  resisted  the  most  energetic  and 


235 


A  CAUSE  OF  HIP  DISEASE. 

best  directed  treatment.  The  doctor  also  relates,  in  the 
last  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Medical 
Association ,  three  cases  of  hip-disease  in  Jboys,  for  which 
he  could  at  first  find  no  cause  in  any  injury,  fall,  blow,  or 
wrench  of  the  joint,  but  which  he  traced  to  the  effect  upon 
the  hip-joint  of  frequent  unnoticed  falls  to  which  the  child 
was  liable  because  of  its  muscular  debility  or  partial 
paralysis  caused  by  irritation  of  the  genital  organs.  He  is 
also  satisfied,  from  recent  experience,  that  to  this  same 
irritation  may  be  traced  many  of  the  cases  of  excitable 
children  with  restless  sleep  and  bad  digestion,  so  often  im¬ 
properly  attributed  to  worms. 

It  is  the  man  of  advanced  years,  however,  whose  nervous 
system  is  most  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  disorders  of  the 
reproductive  organs.  This  topic  occupied  our  attention  to 
some  extent  while  treating  of  the  “  decay  of  virility”  and 
“  the  causes  which  hasten  its  decline.”  We  again  refer  to 
it  in  this  connection  in  order  to  emphasize  the  dangers  to 
the  nervous  and  vital  forces  of  the  aged  from  the  slightest 
approach  to  excess.  That  prominent  French  surgeon,  Dr. 
Parise,  in  pointing  out  these  perils,  utters  the  following 
words  of  warning  :  “  One  grand  purpose  pervades  the  crea¬ 
tion,  to  live  and  to  impart  life.  This  last  function  ought  to 
be  considered  the  most  important.  If  men  will  conform  to 
the  laws  of  nature — laws  which,  moreover,  are  immutable 
and  eternal — they  must  submit  themselves  to  conditions  of 
existence  and  of  organization,  and  learn  how  to  limit  their 
desires  within  the  spheres  of  their  real  wants.  If  they  will 
do  so,  wisdom  and  health  will  bloom  of  themselves,  and 
abide  without  effort ;  but  all  this  is  too  often  forgotten 
when  the  functions  of  generation  are  in  question.  This 
sublime  gift  of  transmitting  life — fatal  prerogative  which 
man  continually  forfeits — at  once  the  mainstay  of  mora* 

17 


TRANSMISSION  OP  LIFE. 


236 

lity,  by  means  of  family  ties,  and  the  powerful  cause  of 
depravity,  the  energetic  spring  of  life  and  health,  the  cease¬ 
less  source  of  disease  and  infirmity,  this  faculty  involves 
almost  all  that  man  can  attain  of  earthly  happiness  or  mis¬ 
fortune,  of  earthly  pleasure  or  of  pain ;  and  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  is  the  symbol  of  it,  as  true  as  it 
is  expressive.  Thus,  even  love  by  its  excesses  hastens  and 
abets  the  inevitable  doom  for  which,  in  the  first  instance  by 
the  aid  of  passion,  it  had  provided  the  victims.  The  greater 
part  of  mankind,  however,  show  excessive  feebleness  in  with¬ 
standing  the  abuse  of  the  generative  functions ;  and  what 
surprises  us  most  is,  that  those  advanced  in  life  are  not 
always  the  least  exposed  to  this  reproach.  It  is  certain  that 
in  old  age,  at  a  time  when  the  passions  have  given  way  to 
reason,  there  are  still  many  individuals  who  allow  them¬ 
selves  to  stray  imprudently  to  the  very  precipitous  edge  of 
these  dangerous  enjoyments.  They  applaud  themselves  for 
postponing  moderation  till  it  is  rather  forced  than  voluntary ; 
till  they  stop  from  sheer  want  of  vigor.  What  heroic  wis¬ 
dom  !  Nature,  pitiless  as  she  is,  will  cause  them  most 
certainly  to  pay  dearly  for  the  transgression  of  her  laws ; 
and  the  steady  accumulation  of  diseases  soon  gives  demon¬ 
strative  proof  of  it.  This  result  is  the  more  certain  and 
prompt,  inasmuch  as  in  these  cases  excesses  are  almost 
always  of  old  standing.  The  libertine  in  years  has  usually 
been  dissolute  in  youth  and  manhood,  so  that  we  may  trace 
the  progress  and  calculate  the  extent  of  his  organic  deterio¬ 
ration.” 

It  is  principally  by  excessive  indulgence  that  elder  men 
bring  about  nervous  maladies.  With  them  the  strictest 
moderation,  often  absolute  continence,  is  necessary  if  they 
would  prolong  their  lives,  and  avoid  numberless  physical 
miseries.  The  effects  of  undue  indulgence  at  this  period  of 


A  CAUSE  OF  BRONCHITIS. 


23  7 


life,  vary  according  to  the  temperament  of  the  individual. 
Men  of  a  nervous  temperament,  are  most  liable  to  epileptic 
or  like  seizures  affecting  the  brain  and  nerves ;  those  of  a 
sanguine  temperament,  run  the  risk  of  hemorrhage  ;  those 
of  a  bilious  temperament,  of  some  derangement  of  the  diges¬ 
tive  organs. 

A  latent  predisposition  to  various  diseases  lurks  in  the 
constitution  of  very  many.  This  predisposition  becomes 
active  under  the  influence  of  the  depressing  effect  of  venereal 
excess.  In  this  way  we  may  account  for  many  disorders  of 
the  mind,  of  the  heart,  and  of  the  lungs,  which  suddenly,  as 
it  were,  develop  themselves.  When  there  exists  in  the 
economy,  any  organ  or  function  which  is  diseased  or  feeble, 
it  is  upon  this  that  the  evil  results  fix  themselves. 

Any  part  of  the  body  may  become  disordered,  as  the 
direct  consequence  of  libidinous  excess.  Thus,  an  experi¬ 
enced  physician,  Prof.  A.  P.  Dutcher,  M  I).,  of  Cleveland, 
has  found  that  even  in  the  prime  of  life,  immoderation  in  the 
marital  relation  is  a  frequent  cause  of  an  obstinate  form  of 
chronic  bronchitis.  He  says  in  one  of  his  lectures :  “In 
looking  over  a  list  of  fifty  cases  of  chronic  bronchitis,  which 
have  fallen  under  my  care  during  the  last  six  years,  I  find 
that  ten  of  them  have  been  attributed  to  this  cause.  And 
they  were  mostly  individuals  in  middle  life,  the  period  when 
the  sexual  propensities  are  the  most  vigorous,  and  prompt  to 
the  most  unlimited  indulgence.  You  will  occasionally  treat 
a  patient  for  a  long  time,  who  is  suffering  from  an  ordinary 
attack  of  chronic  bronchitis,  and  . after  exhausting  your  stock 
of  therapeutics,  you  will  wonder  that  he  does  not  recover. 
You  are  well-assured  that  the  diagnosis  is  correct.  He 
assures  you  that  his  habits  are  all  right,  that  your  prescrip¬ 
tions  are  faithfully  attended  to,  and  there  is  no  improvement 
Indeed,  you  may  treat  him  as  long  as  you  please,  and  he  will 


438 


TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


riot  be  cured,  until  you  expose  the  secret  source  of  his 
malady,  and  compel  him  to  abandon  it.  After  treating  a 
very  intelligent  patient  for  this  disease  a  long  time,  I  re¬ 
marked  to  his  wife  one  day,  that  it  was  exceedingly  strange 
there  was  no  improvement  in  his  case,  I  could  not  see  that 
he  was  any  better  than  when  he  first  came  under  my  care, 
and  I  began  to  fear  that  there  was  something  about  his  case 
I  did  not  understand.  ‘Sir!’  said  she  with  great  emphasis, 
‘  my  husband  is  a  perfect  animal.  Ilis  sexual  excesses  I 
fear  will  be  the  death  of  him.  If  you  coukl  do  something  to 
make  him  more  moderate  in  this  particular,  I  think  all  would 
be  well.’  I  took  the  hint,  lectured  him  upon  the  evils  of 
his  habit,  and  ordered  not  only  moderation  but  total  absti¬ 
nence.  He  followed  my  advice,  and  the  lady’s  prediction 
was  speedily  verified.” 

Epilepsy,  nervous  tremblings,  convulsions  and  various 
forms  of  paralysis  are,  as  we  have  seen,  sometimes  the  conse¬ 
quence  of  habits  of  excess,  particularly  in  those  who  have 
passed  the  prime  of  life.  Many  diseases  of  the  heart  and 
brain,  and  numerous  affections  of  the  skin,  are  also  often 
engendered  and  continued  in  the  same  way.  It  is  only  by 
recognizing  these  facts,  that  proper  means  of  personal  pre¬ 
vention  and  cure  can  be  instituted. 

At  the  same  time  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  a  ten¬ 
dency  to  venereal  excess  and  onanism  is  sometimes  the  result 
and  not  the  cause  of  epilepsy,  and  other  nervous  tremblings. 
Inordinate  desire  may  be  the  accompaniment,  and  the  earliest 
sign  of  brain  disease.  At  the  outset  of  the  disease,  the  un¬ 
happy  patient  may  be  conscious  of,  and  capable  of  control¬ 
ling,  to  a  great  extent,  these  morbid,  and  to  him  distressing 
promoiings,  which  threaten  to  rule  him.  Dr.  Echeverria,  of 
New  York  city,  in  his  recent  work  on  epilepsy,  records  a 
striking  illustration  of  these  remarks,  in  the  case  of  a  patient 


SYPHILIS  OF  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 


239 


affected  with  this  disease,  “  superinduced  by  mental  over 
work,  who.  pressed  by  my  inquiry,  wrote  to  me  a  history 
of  his  case,  with  the  following  about  his  feelings :  ‘  I  would 
not  weary  you  with  the  vain  confession  of  prayers  and  re¬ 
solves  of  one  sinning,  knowing  the  while  how  he  sins  but 
yet,  finding  himself  led  to  the  act  without  any  intention  or 
force  to  resist  it.  You  may  believe  me  or  not ;  as  for  myself, 
I  am  unable  to  account  for  this  venery  that  overcomes  my 
whole  being,  as  anything  but  an  evil  result  of  my  disease. 
If  this  avowal  offers  no  other  moral,  it  presents  that  of  which 
you  need  not  to  be  often  reminded  in  the  practice  of  your  pro. 
fession — how  lightly  we  regard  the  blessings  of  health — and, 
considering  the  self-abuse  through  which  I  pass,  I  think  that 
I  may  say  with  the  Psalmist :  “  How  fear'  dly  and  wonder¬ 
fully  are  we  made.”  ’ 

“Nothing  remains  to  be  added  to  this  description  charac¬ 
teristic  of  an  epileptic,  and  of  the  evil  impulse  and  inability 
of  the  patient,  to  carry  out  an  course  to  repudiate  it.” 

Among  the  nervous  diseases  originating  in  the  reproduc¬ 
tive  organs  syphilis  of  the  nervous  system  calls  for  some 
notice  here.  Many  close  observations  on  this  subject  have 
been  made  within  the  last  few  years  which  leave  no  doubt 
+Uat  the  brain  and  the  whole  nervous  organization  are  liable 
to  be  affected  by  this  subtle  poison.  Severe  headache,  epi¬ 
leptic  convulsions,  and  even  paralysis  may  be  caused  in 
this  way  during  any  period  of  constitutional  syphilis.  Prof. 
Yan  Buren,  of  New  York,  has  recently  published  a  series 
of  cases  of  the  nervous  forms  of  syphilis,  which  bring  into 
prominence  many  practical  points  hitherto  not  sufficiently 
heeded.  Paralysis,  epilepsy,  and  mental  derangement  were 
the  symptoms  presented  by  these  cases.  Enfeeblement  of 
the  intelligence  and  loss  of  memory  are  common  forms  of 
mental  disturbance  noticed.  Whether  insanity  is  ever  of 


<240 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


syphilitic  origin,  is  a  question  still  mooted.  The  belief  has 
been  gaining  ground  among  English  and  German  physicians 
having  charge  of  mental  diseases,  that  such  is  the  case. 
However  it  may  be  as  to  actual  insanity,  there  are  too 
many  cases  on  record  to  permit  of  any  scepticism  as  to  the 
possibility  of  serious  impairment  of  the  intellect  being  the 
frequent  effect  of  this  animal  poison.  The  question  has 
recently  been  asked,  “  Does  the  presence  of  the  syphilitic 
taint  in  the  system  ever  so  enfeeble  the  intellect  as  to  render 
the  subject  less  capable  of  mental  exertion  than  he  was 
before  he  acquired  the  disease,  without  at  the  same  time 
giving  rise  to  intellectual  eccentricities  or  loss  of  memory 
sufficiently  noticeable  to  disclose  his  mental  condition  to 
his  associates?”  Prof.  Van  Buren,  the  propounder  of  this 
query,  feels  inclined  to  answer  it  himself  in  the  affirmative. 

A  Cause  of  Wasting. 

There  is  a  disease  which  has  recently  attracted  much 
attention  in  the  medical  profession.  It  is  known  under  the 
learned  name  of  tabes  dorsalis ,  by  which  is  meant  an  affec¬ 
tion  chiefly  characterized  by  wasting  of  the  body.  Pro¬ 
gressive  emaciation  is  almost  the  only  symptom  present 
excepting  slight  hectic  fever.  The  disease  has  its  origin  in 
the  nervous  system,  and  its  generally  assigned  cause  is  too 
early  or  too  frequent  addition  to  venery. 

There  is  a  great  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  what 
constitutes  excess.  It  varies  in  different  individuals  and 
under  different  circumstances,  as  we  have  already  explained 
in  a  previous  part  of  our  work.  It  is  with  this  form  of  in¬ 
temperance  as  it  is  with  alcoholic  intoxication,  people’s 
ideas  vary  as  to  what  is  undue  indulgence,  and  different 
individuals  are  affected  in  diverse  ways  by  the  same  amount 


A  CAUSE  OF  WASTING. 


241 


of  indulgence.  Venereal  intemperance,  whatever  it  may 
be,  is  the  most  frequent  cause  of  the  sad  disorder  of  which 
we  now  speak.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  patient 
should  be  candid  with  his  medical  adviser.  Concealment  is 
too  often  practised,  to  the  detriment  of  the  sufferer,  par¬ 
ticularly  when  the  indulgence  has  not  only  been  vicious, 
but  criminal. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  evil  results  of  excess 
are  not  always  immediately  manifest.  The  effects  do  not 
necessarily  at  once  follow  the  cause.  The  connection  be¬ 
tween  the  two  is,  therefore,  often  overlooked,  and  a  serious 
medical  error  is  thus  committed. 

Sexual  excess  is  not  the  only  cause  of  this  disease,  but 
when  present  always  favors  its  development.  The  cele¬ 
brated  Dr.  Komberg,  whose  authority  in  nervous  affections 
none  will  call  in  question,  says :  “  Two  circumstances  have 
been  shown  with  certainty  to  predispose  to  it,  namely,  the 
male  sex,  and  the  period  between  the  thirtieth  and  fiftieth 
year  of  life.  Scarcely  one-eighth  of  the  cases  are  females. 
The  loss  of  semen  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  one  of 
the  most  fruitful  sources  of  the  complaint ;  but  this  in  itself 
does  not  appear  to  be  a  matter  of  much  consequence  in 
influencing  the  disease,  as  patients  who  have  been  laboring 
under  spermatorrhoea  for  a  series  of  years  are  much  more 
liable  to  hypochondriasis  and  cerebral  affections,  than  to 
this.  But  when  combined  with  excessive  stimulation  of 
the  nerves,  to  which  sensual  abuses  give  rise,  it  not  unfre- 
quently  favors  the  origin  and  encourages  the  development 
of  the  disease  after  it  has  commenced.  When  the  strength 
is  much  taxed  by  continued  standing  in  a  bent  posture,  by 
forced  marches  and  the  catarrhal  influences  of  wet  bivouacs, 
followed  by  drunkenness  and  debauchery,  as  is  so  often  the 
case  in  campaigns,  the  malady  is  rife.’' 


242 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


Other  writers  speak  still  more  positively  of  the  intimate 
relation  between  this  disease  and  sexual  excesses.  Every 
practising  physician  who  has  had  experience  with  this 
fortunately  comparatively  rare  malady  must  acknowledge 
that  the  history  of  the  cases,  when  accurately  obtained,  has 
nearly  always  pointed  to  this  causation. 

A  Cause  of  Convulsions. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  in  the  minds  of  the  pro* 
fession  at  the  present  time  as  to  th q  frequency  with  which 
the  solitary  vice  induces  epileptic  fits.  All  agree,  however, 
that  here  is  to  be  found  one  of  the  causes  of  epilepsy,  some 
asserting  that  it  is  a  prominent  cause,  others  that  it  is  far 
from  being  the  usual  one.  We  have  just  pointed  out,  on  a 
previous  page,  that  “  a  tendency  to  venereal  excess  and 
onanism  is  sometimes  the  result  and  not  the  cause  of  epi¬ 
lepsy.”  Bearing  this  truth  in  mind,  and  also  the  lament¬ 
able  fact  that  there  hgfve  been,  and  are,  many  ruthless 
alarmists  who,  some  of  them  designedly,  make  exaggerated 
statements  as  to  the  connection  between  abuse  of  the  mas¬ 
culine  powers  and  epileptic  disease,  still  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  an  abundance  of  the  best  of  medical  evidence  proves 
the  existence  of  such  a  connection  in  a  certain  proportion  of 
the  cases.  Thus  Prof.  Watson  in  his  work  on  Practice,  so 
familiar  to  every  physician  and  medical  student,  says  : — 

“  There  are  certain  vices  which  are  justly  considered  as 
influential  in  aggravating,  and  even  in  creating,  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  epilepsy  :  debauchery  of  all  kinds ;  the  habitual 
indulgence  in  intoxicating  liquors ;  and,  above  all,  the  most 
powerful  predisposing  cause  of  any,  not  due  to  inheritance, 
is  masturbation — a  vice  which  it  is  painful  and  difficult' 
even  to  allude  to  in  this  manner,  and  still  more  difficult  to 


A  CASE  OF  NERVOUS  PROSTRATION. 


243 


make  the  subject  of  inquiry  with  a  patient.  But  there  is 
'  too  much  reason  to  be  certain  that  many  cases  of  epilepsy 
owe  their  origin  to  this  wretched  and  degrading  habit,  and 
more  than  one  or  two  patients  have  voluntarily  confessed  to 
me  their  conviction  that  they  had  thus  brought  upon  them¬ 
selves  the  epileptic  paroxysms  for  which  they  sought  my 
advice.” 


Nervous  Prostration. 

The  new  circumstances  and  remarkable  activity  which 
characterize  our  modern  civilization  are  so  different  from 
those  which  surrounded  the  monotonous  lives  of  our  fore¬ 
fathers,  that  we  have  not  as  yet  become  used  to  them.  We 
are,  as  it  were,  in  a  new  world  of  life,  to  which  our  systems 
are  not  yet  acclimated.  Hence  it  is  that  the  annals  of  me¬ 
dicine  chronicle  a  large  increase  in  all  varieties  of  nervous 
maladies  within  the  last  score  or  two  of  years,  in  both  sexes 
and  in  all  civilized  lands. 

What  does  this  teach  ? 

It  teaches  that  the  part  of  prudence  is  to  avoid  more 
sedulously  than  ever  before  the  strains  upon  our  systems 
which  are  unnecessary,  for  our  nervous  organizations  cannot 
bear  that  which  those  of  our  fathers  could. 

Among  the  new  diseases  which  have  thus  arisen  is  one 
which  is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  crowded  cities,  of  the 
great  marts  of  trade  and  hives  of  busy  life,  where  not  only 
does  the  task  of  gaining  subsistence  demand  the  utmost  ex¬ 
ercise  of  the  powers,  but  beyond  this  the  temptations  of 
vice  are  most  shameless,  most  prominent,  and  most  alluring. 

In  this  disease,  which  has  received  the  technical  name  of 
paresis,  there  is  absolutely  nothing  present  which  we  can 
put  our  finger  upon  and  say,  This  is  the  weak  point,  here  is 


244 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


the  seat  of  the  malady.  Nor  does  the  patient  himself  comb 
plain  of  any  pain,  and  is  hardly  aware  of  his  condition. 

He  feels  languid,  depressed,  “  out  of  sorts.”  His  mind  is 
not  as  clear  as  it  was.  It  is  an  effort  to  produce  anything 
original,  or  to  undertake  any  unusual  exertion ;  after  a 
while  even  routine  business  is  burdensome.  Tired  as  he 
constitutionally  feels,  yet  often  he  cannot  sleep  sound  when 
in  bed. 

So  the  symptoms  follow  one  after  another — and  it  is  not 
our  intention  to  draw  any  harrowing  picture  of  them  to 
alarm  the  ignorant — until  there  is  very  visibly  some  definite 
enfeeblement  of  the  functional  power  of  the  brain,  showing 
itself  in  motion  and  in  intellectual  expression. 

This  is  a  disease  which  was  certainly  not  recognized,  even 
if  it  existed,  before  this  age ;  it  is  the  maladie  de  la  sibcle. 
And  for  what  purpose  have  we  introduced  it  here  ?  It  is 
to  warn  against  a  common,  perhaps  the  most  common 
cause  of  it ;  that  is,  excessive  stimulation  of  the  sexual 
passions. 

Dr.  Handheld  Jones,  of  London,  calls  especial  attention 
to  the  importance  of  this  warning,  and  the  frequency  with 
which  the  vice  referred  to  leads  to  a  premature  and  seem¬ 
ingly  unexplainable  debility  of  the  system,  a  want  of  energy, 
a  tedium  vitce.  He  quotes  the  words  of  the  celebrated 
Hufeland :  “  It  is  proved  beyond  all  doubt  that  nothing 
renders  the  mind  so  incapable  of  noble  and  exalted  sensa¬ 
tions,  destroys  so  much  all  its  firmness  and  powers,  and 
relaxes  the  system  as  this  dissipation.” 

It  is  not  easy  to  explain,  even  were  it  the  place  to  do  so, 
these  effects,  but  the  correctness  of  the  observations  is  too 
well  authenticated  to  be  doubted,  and  of  too  much  import¬ 
ance  to  the  public  welfare  to  be  concealed.  The  men  of 
our  time  are  subjected  to  excitements  such  as  none  of  their 


A  CAUSE  OF  DISEASE  OF  THE  SENSES.  245 


ancestors  were,  and  they  must  be  the  more  guarded  there, 
fore  to  avoid  any  needless  exposure  of  their  health.  The 
same  intelligence  which  has  raised  them  from  the  depths  of 
unlettered  savagery,  and  enabled  them  to  cultivate  to  such 
an  extent  the  powers  of  the  senses,  must  be  their  guide  in 
using  these  new  abilities  as  not  abusing  them,  and  in  avoid¬ 
ing  the  perils  with  which  a  wider  control  over  natural 
agencies  is  invariably  associated. 

Disorders  of  the  Special  Senses. 

To  illustrate  still  further  the  intimate  relationship  which 
exists  between  all  parts  of  the  nervous  system,  and  how 
even  remote  functions  are  connected  in  their  healthy  ac¬ 
tivity,  we  shall  speak  of  a  few  disorders  of  the  special 
senses  which  occasionally  take  their  rise  from  the  same 
cause  of  which  we  have  been  speaking. 

By  the  term  “  special  senses”  physicians  mean  the  senses 
of  sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste,  and  feeling.  They  are  at 
times  all  more  or  less  affected  in  diseases  such  as  we  have 
mentioned,  but  the  disorders  of  two  of  them — sight  and 
hearing — are  so  important  in  themselves,  and  relatively  so 
much  more  common  and  serious,  that  in  the  present  connec¬ 
tion  we  shall  refer  to  them  alone. 

A  greater  or  less  debility  of  the  sight,  permanent  or  only 
occasionally  present,  is  a  well-known  accompaniment  of  an 
abuse  of  the  generative  faculty.  Sometimes  this  is  merely 
a  dimness,  a  tendency  to  confuse  objects  and  to  blur  them. 
At  others,  it  is  associated  with  an  appearance  of  specks  and 
motes  before  the  eyes,  or  a  sensation  of  prickling  and  heat 
in  the  ball  of  the  eye. 

Of  course  all  these  and  similar  symptoms  more  frequently 
arise  from  other  and  more  innocent  causes  than  the  one  of 


246 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


which  we  are  speaking,  but  it  is  well  to  know  that  they  also 
arise  from  it,  and  well  to  be  aware  that  often  as  long  as 
such  habits  are  continued  and  concealed  from  the  physician, 
as  is  generally  the  case,  medication  may  be  useless,  and  the 
physician  be  blamed  for  want  of  skill,  when  no  one  but  the 
sufferer  himself  is  to  blame. 

It  is  gratifying  to  be  assured  that  when  the  cause  is  re¬ 
moved,  these  disorders  usually  rapidly  disappear,  providing, 
of  course,  that  they  have  not  been  in  existence  so  long  as  to 
have  impaired  the  organ.  Dr.  H.  Muller,  whose  observa¬ 
tions  on  these  matters  we  have  several  times  quoted,  says  : 
“  The  feebleness  bf  the  power  of  vision,  which  is  so  common 
among  those  suffering  from  disorders  of  the  generative  func¬ 
tion,  may  increase  to  an  actual  loss  of  the  power  of  sight. 
I  have  in  many  instances  witnessed  its  gradual  diminution. 
But  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  in  every  instance  in  which  the 
patient  continued  under  treatment,  I  have  witnessed  its 
restoration ;  ■  sometimes  quite  rapidly  after  an  appropriate 
local  application. 

“  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,”  continues  Dr.  Mul¬ 
ler,  “  that  this  defect  of  the  sight  is  always  dependent  in 
these  cases  on  abuse,  excess,  or  nocturnal  emissions.  On 
the  contrary,  there  are  various  diseased  conditions  of  tha 
parts  which,  by  some  not  well  understood  sympathy,  lead  to 
a  disturbance  of  the  powers  of  sight.” 

These  he  proceeds  to  mention,  but  as  they  could  only  be 
understood  by  the  medical  reader,  we  shall  not  recapitulate 
them.  His  observation,  however,  we  deem  it  important  to 
quote,  for  it  is  of  utmost  weight,  in  our  opinion,  that  no 
hasty  inference  so  damaging  to  the  moral  life  of  a  person, 
or  unfair  suspicion  of  his  conduct,  should  be  drawn  from  any¬ 
thing  we  say.  The  facts  are,  that  disturbance  of  the  eye¬ 
sight,  even  proceeding  to  actual  blindness,  may  arise  from 


A  CAUSE  OF  DEAFNESS.  247 

irrrta'Ciw*  jf  the  parts,  and  yet  this  be  in  no  wise  due  to 
unusual  practices. 

The  cases  due  to  venereal  excess,  the  same  writer  goes  on 
to  remark,  the  oculist  is  apt  to  treat  in  vain,  for  he  rarely 
reflects  on  this  distant  sympathy,  may  not  know  it  or  believe 
in  it,  or  feel  a  natural  hesitancy  in  inquiring  about  it. 
Therefore  it  may  be  that  cases  which  have  been  pronounced 
by  the  eye-surgeon  incurable,  will  readily  be  relieved  by 
attention  to  the  precautions  which  we  have  given  for  pre¬ 
serving  the  function  of  sex  in  perfect  health. 

The  hearing  is  impaired  in  a  less  degree  by  such  ex¬ 
cesses,  but  it  unquestionably  is  at  times  implicated. 

The  disorders  to  which  it  is  subject  from  this  cause  are 
chiefly  of  that  character  which  are  termed  subjective. 
The  patient  will  be  annoyed  by  imaginary  noises,  such  as 
buzzing,  ringing,  and  roaring  sounds.  Occasionally  actual 
deafness  has  been  observed,  a  peculiar  character  of  which 
readily  distinguishes  it  from  that  usually  encountered,  that 
is,  its  variable  nature.  One  day  it  will  be  marked,  and  only 
a  loud  tone  can  be  heard ;  the  next  it  may  entirely  have  dis¬ 
appeared,  or  be  hardly  observable. 

So  far  from  being  deaf,  an  unusual  sensitiveness  of  hearing 
may  also  proceed  from  the  same  cause. 

In  short,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  most  of  these  disturbances 
of  this  sense,  which  are  found  generally  where  the  nervous 
system  has  been  much  shocked  or  prostrated,  also  make  their 
appearance  when  it  is  suffering  under  a  depression  from 
injury  from  this  source. 

As  these  senses — sight  and  hearing — are  the  avenues 
through  which  the  most  that  is  good,  and  beautiful,  and 
useful  is  conveyed  to  us,  and  as  their  integrity  is  essential  to 
allow  us  to  be  of  service  to  ourselves  and  our  fellow-men, 
certainly  no  ephemeral  or  imaginary  pleasure  of  a  mere 


248 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


ignoble  and  selfish  sort  should  induce  us  for  a  moment  to 
imperil  their  perfect  working  and  preservation.  Here, 
again,  drawn  from  the  discussion  of  an  obscure  point  of 
medical  practice,  do  we  discover  an  argument  and  a  powerful 
one  in  favor  of  that  golden  moderation,  that  self-control,  and 
that  temperate  use  of  our  powers,  which  in  all  times  have 
constituted  the  kernel  of  the  maxims  of  sages  and  been  the 
aim  of  legislators.  Experience  here  is  of  accord  with  reason, 
and  proves  by  example  that  which  the  latter  has  long  taught 
by  precept. 

Disorders  of  Digestion. 

The  nourishment  of  the  system  depends,  of  course,  very 
directly  upon  the  proper  digestion  of  the  food  we  eat,  and 
whatever  interferes  with  the  process,  soon  gives  occasion  for 
the  appearance  of  a  number  of  other  troubles,  dependent 
upon  the  starvation  as  it  were  of  the  separate  organs. 

Several  authors  have  insisted  that  there  is  little  or  no 
connection  observable  between  the  functions  of  sex  in  the 
male  and  those  of  digestion  ;  in  the  female,  all  agree  that 
they  are  intimately  related,  and  that  hardly  ever  is  there  a 
disturbance  of  the  former,  but  that  it  is  reflected  in  the 
action  of  the  latter. 

The  analogy  of  conformation  leads  us  to  doubt,  therefore, 
their  entire  independence  in  the  male,  and  we  are  inclined 
to  agree  with  that  more  numerous  party  in  the  profession 
who  maintain  that  many  cases  display  a  strong  sympathy 
between  the  parts  in  question.  Our  own  observation  bears 
this  out.  Several  striking  cases  have  come  before  us  where 
dyspepsia  of  long  standing  disappeared  when  the  disorder  of 
the  lower  organs  was  removed. 

The  fact  that  many  who  exhaust  their  systems  by  excess 


THE  CHANCES  OF  RECOVERY. 


24A 


are  characterized  by  a  voracious  appetite,  is  not  sufficient 
to  disprove  this  view.  The  demand  of  the  system  for  food  ia 
urgent,  but,  when  consumed,  it  is  often  productive  of  un, 
pleasant  sensations,  eructation,  water-brash,  a  sense  of 
weight  and  fulness,  and  the  other  familiar  symptoms  of 
indigestion.  While  it  is  nearly  always  observed  that  such 
persons,  in  spite  of  the  amount  of  food  they  take,  do  not 
increase  proportionately  in  flesh,  but  are  marked  by  a  degree 
of  attenuation  which  has  become  proverbial. 

Instances  have  come  to  our  knowledge  where  attacks  of 
dyspepsia  made  their  appearance  only  after  dissipations  of 
the  kind,  and  gave  no  trouble  where  the  rules  of  health  in 
this  respect  were  judiciously  observed.  In  these  the  sufferers 
themselves  did  not  hesitate  to  attribute  their  complaints  to 
what  they  justly  considered  the  real  exciting  cause. 

.  Whatever  doubt  may  exist  in  reference  to  the  general 
question  of  the  sympathy  of  these  parts,  there  can  be  none 
concerning  the  relationship  of  certain  complaints  of  the 
lower  bowels  to  disturbances  of  the  masculine  function. 
Obstinate  constipation  may  stand  either  in  the  relation  of 
a  cause  or  a  consequence  to  chronic  irritation  of  the  parts 
from  any  cause,  innocent  or  flagitious.  So  also  the  nearness 
of  position  which  they  occupy  in  the  human  system  leads 
them  to  a  participation  in  the  same  disturbances. 

The  Prospects  of  Cure. 

The  catalogue  of  nervous  disorders  which  depend  upon 
disturbances  of  the  generative  functions  is  a  somewhat  long 
and  a  formidable  one,  but  we  do  not  wish  the  reader  to 
carry  away  any  false  impressions  of  alarm. 

Our  task  here  is  difficult  We  well  know  that  we  shall 
fail  of  our  purpose  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we  create  a  terror 


250 


the  transmission  of  life. 


which  may  lead  to  melancholy  and  despair ;  and  also  if  we 
give  the  idea  that,  after  all,  these  various  disorders  are 
transient,  rare,  and  of  slight  importance. 

They  are,  in  fact,  frequent ;  they  may  be  serious ;  and 
they  may  become  incurable  by  leading  to  organic  changes  in 
the  nervous  system.  But  they  are  also  generally  readily 
curable,  even  after  they  have  long  been  troublesome.  While 
this  does  not  hold  good  for  all  of  them,  it  does  for  most. 

There  is  no  reason  for  despair,  but  the  strongest  for  re- 
formation.  Continued  indulgence  will  certainly  end  in 
wrecking  the  constitution  irretrievably ;  but  nature  is  slow 
to  yield  thus  far.  To  the  last  there  is  hope  ;  but  from  the 
first  there  is  danger. 

Let  no  young  man,  in  the  pride  of  his  strength,  flatter 
himself  he  can  yield  to  dissipation  with  impunity.  It  may 
be  that  a  single  excess  will  ruin  his  bodily  powers  for  life, 
and  blight  his  every  hope  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career. 
Examples  of  this  are  not  wanting,  which  may  well  give  him 
pause,  for  who  knows  but  their  fate  may  be  his. 

The  prospects  for  a  complete  restoration  of  the  health 
are,  in  the  large  majority  of  instances,  favorable,  but  only 
on  one  condition,  the  immediate  and  complete  cessation  of 
the  wonted  indulgence,  whether  this  be  solitary  or  sexual 
abuse.  Without  this  imperative  condition,  we  promise 
nothing. 

Nor  is  this  enough.  The  thought  as  well  as  the  act  must 
be  put  away.  That  is  no  reform  which  extends  to  the  mis¬ 
deed  only,  while  the  thoughts  and  wishes  are  as  evil  as  ever. 
In  no  department  of  morals  is  this  more  true  than  here. 
“  He  who  looketh  upon  a  woman  to  lust  after  her,  hath 
already  committed  adultery  with  her  in  his  heart.”  And 
the  evil  consequences  to  his  body  as  well  as  to  his  soul 
follow  as  surely  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 


THE  METHODS  OF  TREATMENT. 


251 


If  the  sufferer  will  resolutely  see  to  it  that  he  is  rigidly 
pure  in  heart,  then  we  can  conscientiously  bid  him  take 
courage,  for  the  victory  will  shortly  be  won. 

The  Means  of  Cure. 

While  here,  as  in  the  previous  parts  of  our  work,  we  dis¬ 
claim  the  intention  of  pretending  to  qualify  one  unversed 
in  the  doctrines  of  medicine  to  manage  successfully  serious 
diseases,  as  are  some  we  have  mentioned,  we  shall  attempt 
to  put  those  who  require  it  in  possession  of  information 
which  will  enable  them  to  escape  from  many  of  the  ills  they 
have  brought  upon  themselves. 

The  treatment  of  nervous  disorders  in  general  has  occu¬ 
pied  prominently  the  attention  of  physicians  since  within 
the  last  score  of  years  these  complaints  have  become  so 
much  more  numerous  than  formerly. 

We  may  sum  up  the  general  principles  of  this  treatment 
in  a  few  words.  The  system  must  be  relieved  from  the 
cause  of  its  disorder  at  the  earliest  moment,  and  recourse 
be  had  to  tonic  and  strengthening  diet,  and  drugs  to  impart 
to  it  the  vigor  which  it  has  forfeited. 

The  use  of  iron,  as  in  the  prescription  given  on  an  earlier 
page  of  this  work,  will  be  found  of  value.  Change  of  air 
and  scene,  as  by  travelling,  is  an  admirable  tonic.  Regu¬ 
lated  exercise,  always  pushed  short  of  the  point  of  actual 
fatigue,  is  essential.  The  mineral  wraters  which  are  rich  in 
the  salts  of  iron  are  of  great  service. 

The  free  use  of  cold  water  is  always  advisable.  To  an 
ordinarily  vigorous  system  it  is  singularly  invigorating.  It 
increases  the  nervous  power  and  attracts  the  blood  from  the 
inner  organs  to  the  surface.  The  cold  bath,  whether  as 
shower-bath  or  douche-bath,  should  be  taken  with  regularity. 

18 


252 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


In  feeble  states  of  the  system,  cold  water  may  be  depress 
ing,  and  there  are  some  temperaments  so  sensitive  to  hr. 
that  it  almost  throws  them  into  convulsions.  When  this  is 
the  case,  it  is  better  to  commence  with  tepid  water,  and 
gradually  lower  the  temperature  as  the  system  becomes 
accustomed  to  it.  The  sponge-bath  is  often  grateful  and 
pleasant  to  those  who  cannot  support  without  great  discom¬ 
fort  the  application  of  cold  water  in  a  more  direct  manner. 

The  wet  sheet,  though  cold  on  its  first  application,  soon 
becomes  warm,  and  acts  agreeably  on  those  whose  systems 
are  feeble  and  irritable. 

There  is  a  strong  desire  in  many  of  these  cases  of  nervous 
trouble  to  quiet  the  irritability,  and  to  cheer  the  depressed 
spirits  with  doses  of  alcoholic  beverages ;  and  there  are  phy¬ 
sicians  who  do  not  hesitate  to  permit  and  even  to  recommend 
such  stimulation.  We  must  enter  a  decided  protest  against 
this  advice  and  this  habit.  It  “  is  not,  cannot  come  to  good.” 
The  fallacious  sense  of  comfort  temporarily  imparted  is  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  reaction  which  requires  a  repetition  of  the  dose, 
and  soon  a  confirmed  habit  of  tippling  is  formed.  Bad  at 
all  times,  this  is  unspeakably  pernicious  in  cases  like  those 
we  are  discussing,  where  it  is  beyond  everything  important 
that  the  self-control  be  maintained,  and  the  passions  kept 
under. 

But  in  spite  of  the  rigid  observance  of  the  ordinary 
precepts  for  nervous  disorders,  there  are  some  arising  from 
this  cause  which  will  not  be  healed  by  these  means,  and  yet 
are  readily  curable  nevertheless.  These  are  the  cases  which 
give  themselves  and  their  medical  attendants  the  most 
trouble.  They  are  weary  loads  to  themselves  and  friends, 
and  regard  themselves  as  confirmed  valetudinarians.  Such 
require  a  special  local  treatment.  Their  general  nervous 


THE  DANGERS  OF  RETICENCE. 


253 


troubles  will  disappear  promptly  when  the  irritation  of  the 
parts,  the  cause  of  all  the  symptoms,  no  matter  how  remote, 
is  removed.  Many  striking  cases  to  this  effect  are  to  be 
found  in  the  various  writers  who  have  recorded  their  experi¬ 
ence  on  these  subjects. 

Of  course  where,  as  in  some  of  the  cases  alluded  to  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  article,  the  general  symptoms  depend 
upon  some  malformation,  or  upon  some  poison  of  contagion 
still  lurking  in  the  system,  the  special  and  appropriate 
means  should  be  employed,  either  surgical,  to  reduce  the 
malformation,  or  medical,  to  expel  from  the  system,  when 
possible,  the  morbid  material. 

The  distinction  between  these  various  causes  is  often  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty,  and  no  one  can  trust  his  own 
judgment  in  an  obscure  case.  Even  the  expert  at  times  is 
at  fault,  and  is  led  to  the  adoption  of  methods  of  treatment 
which,  if  not  injurious,  are  useless.  This  is  often  the  fault 
of  the  patient  himself.  Either  through  ignorance,  through 
a  sense  of  guiltiness,  or  from  a  natural  diffidence,  facts  which 
would  throw  light  upon  the  cause  are  often  withheld. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  such  reticence  as  this,  how¬ 
ever  proper  in  general,  is  entirely  misplaced  between  patient 
and  physician.  There  should  be  no  concealment  when 
health  and  life  are  at  stake.  When  sufficient  confidence  is 
not  felt  in  a  medical  attendant  to  give  him  all  the  facts 
which  are  necessary  for  him  to  know,  some  other  one  should 
be  sought. 

That  many  fail  to  receive  the  proper  treatment  because 
they  themselves  are  entirely  unaware  how  closely  their  pre¬ 
sent  troubles  are  related  to  their  former  vices,  we  well  know, 
The  hints  we  have  given  in  the  last  few  pages  are  for  their 
benefit,  and  we  hope  they  will  lay  them  well  to  heart. 


254 


THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


While  pointing  out,  as  we  have  done,  a  few  of  the  nervous 
disorders  originating  in  the  reproductive  system,  we  have 
carefully  made  our  statements  of  even  less  strength  than 
our  medical  experience  and  knowledge  would  justify.  We 
desire  to  excite  no  unnecessary  alarm  in  the  mind  of  any  one. 
But  the  fact  that  various  nervous  maladies  may  be  pro-, 
duced  by  different  affections  of  the  male  organs  should  be 
known  to  every  man.  Having  learned  how  penetrating 
and  far  reaching  are  the  effects,  may  we  not  hope  that  some 
of  our  readers,  through  the  personal  application  of  the 
sanitary  laws,  which,  in  this  volume,  it  has  been  our  en¬ 
deavor  to  make  clear,  will  be  led  to  avoid  exposing  them¬ 
selves  to  the  exciting  causes  of  disease  of  the  masculine 
function  ? 


[Works  referred  to  in  this  Section. — The  Lancet,  London, 
July  16  and  July  30,  1870;  Partial  Paralysis  from  Rpflex  Irrita - 
tion,  caused  by  Congenital  Phimosis  and  Adherent  Prepuce ,  by 
Lewis  A.  Sayre,  M.  D.  ;  Prof.  A.  P.  Dutcher,  M.  D.,  Lectures  on 
Chronic  Bronchitis,  in  the  Philadelphia  Medical  and  Surgical  Re¬ 
porter  for  October  12,  1867;  M.  Gonzales  Echeverria,  on  Epilepsy  * 
Anatomo-Pathological  and  Clinical  Notes,  New  York,  1870,  p 
231  ;  Prof.  Win.  II.  Van  Buren,  M  D.,  on  Syphilis  of  the  Nervous 
System,  in  the  New  York  Medical  Journal,  for  November,  1870, 
Trait&  Historique  et  Pratique  de  la  Syphilis,  par  le  docteur  E. 
Lancereaux,  Paris,  1866,  p.  441 ;  Les  Passions  dans  lenrs  Rapports 


AUTHORITIES. 


255 


avec  la  SantA  et  les  Maladies ,  par  Xavier  Bourgeois,  p.  29;  S.  W.  D. 
Williams,  M.  D.,  on  A  Case  of  Syphilitic  Insanity ,  in  the  Journal 
of  Mental  Science  for  April,  1869  ;  A  Case  of  Syphilitic  Disease  oj 
th J  Nervous  System,  Journal  of  Psychological  Medicine  for  April, 
1869  Lectures  on  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Physic ,  by  Thomas 
Watson,  M.  D.  (Am-  ed.),  p.  419. J 


THE  PHYSICAL  TYPE  OF  MANHOOD. 


In  the  foregoing  section  we  have  seen  how  the  constitu¬ 
tion  is  sometimes  wrecked  by  the  local  diseases  which  we 
have  treated  of  in  the  present  work.  We  have  traced  these 
effects  from  their  incipient  stages  until  mind  and  body  were 
involved.  Let  us  now,  in  order  to  relieve  this  dark  picture 
and  dismal  theme,  turn  our  attention  for  a  few  paragraphs 
to  the  reverse  of  it,  to  man  in  the  ideal  perfection  of  his  phy, 
sical  frame,  and  learn  whether  there  are  any  stable  laws  in 
that  department  of  nature ;  and  if  so,  what  they  are. 

The  artist  who  studies  man  not  as  he  is,  broken  and  de¬ 
based  by  indulgence,  but  as  he  should  be,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  powers  which  health  and  virtue  can  grant,  will  be 
our  guide. 

He  discovers  that  in  the  perfect  physical  type  of  man 
there  are  certain  definite  proportions  which  constitute  sym¬ 
metry,  and  make  up  a  harmony  which  reappears  in  every 
statue  and  painting  of  the  highest  class,  and  which  the  in¬ 
stinct  of  the  artist  appreciates  more  quickly  than  the  tape- 
line  of  the  anatomist. 

The  details  of  this  harmony  will  be  interesting  to  note. 

The  unit  of  the  scale  is  the  length  of  the  nose  measured 
from  the  inner  corner  of  the  eye  downward. 

Four  times  this  unit  equals  the  height  of  the  head  mea¬ 
sured  from  the  crown  to  a  line  horizontal  with  the  point  of 
the  chin. 


(  257  ) 


258 


THE  PHYSICAL  TYPE  OF  MANHOOD. 


Eight  times  this  unit  equals  the  distance  from  the  crown 
of  the  head  to  a  line  drawn  around  the  chest  at  the  level  of 
the  armpits. 

Sixteen  times  the  unit  equals  the  distance  from  the  crown 
to  the  junction  of  the  lower  limbs. 

And  thirty-one  times  the  unit  equals  the  total  height  from 
the  sole  of  the  foot  to  the  crown  of  the  head ;  and  this  again 
is  equal  to  the  distance  from  the  extremity  of  the  middle 
finger  of  one  hand  to  that  of  the  other  when  the  arms  are 
extended. 

Yery  numerous  and  minuter  measurements  are  given  in 
works  which  treat  of  the  rules  of  drawing  and  sculpture. 
The  physician,  with  mind  fixed  on  the  attainment  of  life  and 
health,  naturally  might  expect  this  ideal  physical  type  to 
coincide  with  that  endowed  with  longest  life  and  greatest 
strength. 

Singular  to  say,  he  would  be  in  the  wrong. 

“  The  graceful  shape  and  form  of  perfect  symmetry,”  re¬ 
marks  an  eminent  army  surgeon  of  large  experience,  “are 
seldom  connected  with  power,  activity,  and  that  inexhaust¬ 
ible  fund  of  endurance  which  support  toils  and  fatigues  with 
constancy  and  firmness.” 

By  what,  then,  can  the  capacity  in  a  man  for  physical 
labor  and  endurance  be  judged  ? 

This  interesting  question  has  recently  been  answered  by 
a  German  physician,  who  has  devoted  much  time  to  the 
study  of  the  external  conformation  of  the  human  body.  He 
includes  in  his  formula  three  factors,  the  height,  the  weight, 
and  the  circumference  of  the  chest  on  a  line  with  the  nipple; 
and  he  decides  that  the  greater  the  proportion  of  the  latter 
to  the  former  factors,  the  greater  the  physical  capacity. 

It  was  a  familiar  fact  in  our  late  war  that  neither  very 
tall  nor  very  short  men  supported  the  toils  of  field  service  as 


THE  PHYSICAL  TYPE  OF  MANHOOD. 


259 


well  as  those  of  a  medium  stature.  Nor  is  it  common  to 
observe  either  extreme  in  stature  reach  an  advanced  old  age. 

In  one  sense,  the  whole  external  form  of  a  man  is  a  com¬ 
mentary,  and  a  disclosure  of  his  nature,  habits,  and  disposi¬ 
tion.  There  is  a  physiognomy  which  is  not  confined  to  the 
face,  but  embraces  the  whole  body.  A  gifted  French  sur¬ 
geon,  by  close  observation,  became  such  an  adept  in  this 
science,  that  he  could,  without  fail,  ascertain  the  profession 
to  which  a  man  belonged,  by  examining  his  body.  As  pas¬ 
sion  and  indulgence  leave  their  Cain-like  brand  upon  the 
face,  so  occupation  impresses  its  peculiarity  on  the  muscles 
of  the  trunk  and  extremities. 

The  perfect  physical  type  of  manhood  cannot  be  sought, 
therefore,  amid  the  anxieties  and  toils  of  our  marts  and 
forums ;  it  must  not  be  expected  in  our  gymnasia  nor  studios ; 
it  will  not  be  found  in  struggling  crowds ;  but  we  can  ex¬ 
pect  it  only  where  the  wise  ancients  placed  it,  and  where 
their  works  of  art  represent  it — among  the  immortal  gods. 


MEDICAL  VIEWS 


ON 

POPULAR  MEDICAL  INSTRUCTION. 


Our  belief  in  the  necessity  for  a  work  similar  to  the  one 
we  have  written  has  been  abundantly  justified,  not  only  by 
the  testimonials  and  warm  recommendations  which  it  has 
received  from  many  eminent  men  and  friends  of  education 
(as  the  reader  will  see  at  the  close  of  the  volume),  but  also 
by  the  sale  in  a  singularly  short  space  of  time  of  three 
editions,  and  by  the  personal  thanks  of  not  a  few  who  have 
read  it  and  found  profit  and  consolation  in  it. 

While  among  those  who  have  thus  aided  and  counte¬ 
nanced  our  efforts  in  imparting  instruction  on  an  important 
and  peculiarly  difficult  branch  of  hygiene,  we  are  gratified 
to  number  not  a  few  of  our  own  profession  who  have  achieved 
a  deserved  reputation  by  their  studies  in  State  Medicine, 
we  have  received  from  some  others,  whose  opinions  we  value, 
expressed  doubts  as  to  the  need  for  a  work  like  this. 

Desirous  as  we  are  to  exonerate  ourselves  from  the  charge 
of  having  taken  up  weapons  to  conquer  imaginary  foes,  or 
to  have  inaugurated  a  Quixotic  crusade  against  sanitary 
windmills,  it  has  occurred  to  us  that  we  could,  with  pro¬ 
priety,  at  this  stage  of  our  labors,  examine  the  objections  to 
which  we  have  referred.  As  far  as  they  have  been  brought 

(  261  ) 


262 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


to  our  notice,  they  are  curiously  diverse,  and  may  be 
summed  up  separately  as  follows  : — 

1.  There  are  no,  or  almost  no  evils  to  health  which  result 
from  abuses  of  the  masculine  function.  The  terrors  which 
accompany  such  abuses  are  purely  imaginary,  and  works 
like  this  might  increase  them. 

2.  These  evils  are  so  real,  so  manifest,  and  so  well  known 
to  the  public  already,  that  any  further  information  upon 
them  is  superfluous. 

3.  Whether  real  or  imaginary,  such  evils  are  so  rare  in 
moral  communities  like  ours  that  the  public  mind  ought  not 

.  to  be  excited  and  alarmed  by  a  description  of  them. 

4.  It  is  granted  that  these  evils  are  both  real  and  fright¬ 
fully  prevalent,  but  it  is  not  wise  to  address  the  public  con¬ 
cerning  them,  because  it  is  best  that  the  public  be  kept  in 
ignorance  of  whatever  concerns  its  physical  being.  In  the 
words  of  a  professor  of  obstetrics  in  a  Massachusetts  college, 
in  a  letter  to  us,  “  The  reading  of  works  on  physiology  makes 
men  and  women  know  just  enough  to  be  complete  fools.  It 
would  be  a  lucky  day  for  them  should  they  forget  that  they 
have  tongues,  stomachs,  and  livers.” 

Nothing  but  our  veneration  for  a  number  of  those  mem¬ 
bers  of  our  profession  who  oppose  popular  information  on. 
physiology  and  hygiene,  has  prevented  us  from  feeling  some 
degree  of  amusement  in  comparing  these  various  objections 
to  the  project  which  we  have  endeavored  to  carry  out.  It 
might  not  be  becoming  in  us  to  meet  them  with  opinions 
and  arguments  of  our  own,  and,  becoming  or  not,  they 
would  not  have  the  same  weight  as  those  advanced  by  profes¬ 
sional  men  of  unquestioned  superiority  in  medical  science,  of 
vast  experience,  and  of  world-wide  reputation. 

We  add,  therefore,  some  quotations  from  recent  medical 
writers  who  have,  with  unbiased  minds  and  w:th  painstaking 


THE  OPINION  OF  DR.  ABBOTTS  SMITH.  2G3 


fidelity,  studied  this  subject,  and  thought  about  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  rendering  it  more  familiar  to  the  general  public  a» 
an  important  department  of  hygiene. 

Abbotts  Smith,  M.D.,  M.R.C.P.  Lond.,  M.R.C.S.,  Phy¬ 
sician  to  the  Finsbury  Dispensary ;  late  Physician  to  the 
North  London  Consumption  Hospital ;  Physician  to  the 
Metropolitan  Free  Hospital,  and  to  the  City  Dispensary, 
&c.,  says,  in  The  Medical  Press  and  Circular,  of  London, 
for  December  21, 1870  : — 

“  For  many  years  past,  I  have  had  extensive  opportu¬ 
nities  for  observing,  at  the  various  institutions  with  which  • 
I  have  been  connected,  as  well  as  in  private  practice,  the 
frequency  of  cases  of  spermatorrhoea,  and  I  have  been 
especially  struck  by  two  facts,  namely,  1.  The  remarkably 
helpless  and  dejected  state  of  patients  suffering  from  this 
affection ;  and  2.  The  relative  facility  of  cure,  as  compared 
with  numerous  other  disorders  of  the  genito-urinary  organs, 
if  the  patients  remained  under  treatment  for  a  reasonable 
period,  and  if  they,  at  the  same  time,  relinquished  the  bad 
habit  which,  in  a  certain  proportion  of  the  cases,  had  brought 
on  or  tended  to  perpetuate  the  ailment. 

“  A  third  feature  presented  itself  with  almost  uniform  re¬ 
gularity,  and  this  was  that  in  most  of  the  cases  (at  any  rate, 
in  something  like  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  under 
observation)  the  patients  had,  before  applying  for  hospital 
advice,  foolishly  placed  themselves  in  the  hands  of  ignorant, 
unscrupulous  quacks,  who,  acting  on  the  principle  of  the 
old  highwayman’s  maxim,  ‘  your  money  or  your  life,’  had 
rapaciously  extorted  as  much  as  they  could  of  the  former, 
while  their  victims  ran  no  small  risk  of  also  losing  the  latter. 

To  a  certain  extent,  some  of  the  sufferers  could  scarcely  be 
blamed  for  their  apparent  want  of  discrimination  in  going  to 


264 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


such  men,  as  they  had  in  the  first  instance  resorted  to  medi¬ 
cal  practitioners,  who  had  told  them,  either  that  their  dis¬ 
order  was  imaginary,  or,  rushing  into  the  opposite  extreme, 
that  it  was  incurable,  or  only  to  be  removed  by  the  progress 
of  time. 

“  It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  the  medical  profession 
should  have  assumed  such  an  apathetic  or  indifferent  posi¬ 
tion  as  regards  this  disorder.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of 
the  existence  of  spermatorrhoea  in  a  large  number  of  patients, 
and,  in  fact,  it  would  be  found  to  be  much  more  common 
than  it  even  appears  to  be,  if  it  were  more  generally  recog¬ 
nized  as  a  distinct  affection.  Many  of  the  cases  which  now 
fall  into  the  hands  of  empirical  pretenders,  would  then  come 
within  the  range  of  observation  of  qualified  practitioners. 
And  this  must,  sooner  or  later,  be  the  case  when  the  false 
delicacy  which  is  at  present  allowed  to  surround  the  subject 
of  spermatorrhoea  is  removed.  It  is  the  conscientious  duty 
of  medical  men ,  standing  as  they  do  in  the  position  of 
guardians  of  the  public  health ,  to  grapple  resolutely  with 
this,  as  ivith  every  other  phase  of  disease,  instead  of 
leaving  unfortunate  sufferers  exposed  to  any  charlatans 
who  may  happen  to  seize  upon  it  as  a  fertile  field  for  de¬ 
ception  and  extortion.  I  write  thus  earnestly,  because 
many  instances  have  been  published  in  the  medical  journals 
of  patients — often  of  superior  education,  intelligence,  and 
social  position — who  have  suffered  severely  at  the  hands  of 
quacks,  partly  through  their  complaint  having  been  treated 
too  lightly  by  medical  practitioners,  to  whom  they  had  pre¬ 
viously  applied  for  advice,  partly  through  the  mauvaise 
honte  which  induced  them,  misled  by  the  specious  promises 
held  out,  to  fall  into  the  traps  set  by  quacks.  ‘ Omne  ig- 
notum  pro  magnified1  is  an  old  and  true  axiom  concerning 
the  credulity  of  sick  people,  who,  like  drowning  men,  readilv 


THE  HARM  DONE  BY  CHARLATANS. 


265 


snatch  at  any  proffered  assistance,  without  waiting  to  form 
an  opinion  as  to  whether  it  is  worthless  or  sound.  With 
regard  to  the  almost  culpable  distaste  for  dealing  fully  with 
the  subject,  I  am  of  the  same  opinion  with  that  which  was 
recently  expressed  to  me  by  the  editor  of  a  medical  journal, 
that  there  can  be  no  more  real  reason  for  ignoring  the 
functional  disorders  of  the  male,  than  those  of  the  female 
sex,  upon  which  so  much  has  been  written  and  said  of  late 
years. 

“  The  general  symptoms  of  spermatorrhoea  need  not  be 
dwelt  upon,  and  I  shall  purposely  pass  over  the  minutely 
detailed  and  grossly  exaggerated  symptoms,  which  the 
quacks  carefully  and  persistently  parade  before  their  vic¬ 
tims’  imaginations,  such  as  ‘  involuntary  blushings,’  ‘  loss  of 
vigor,’  ‘  gradual  decay  of  nature,’  and  the  like. 

“  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  general  symptoms  are  similar 
to  those  which  are  present  in  all  cases  of  disease  where  the 
patient  is  subjected  to  the  effects  of  continuous  exhaustion 
of  the  system.  He  becomes  languid,  weak,  and  unfit  for 
any  sustained  physical  or  mental  exertion,  disposed  rather 
to  brood  in  solitude  over  his  misfortunes,  than  to  join  in 
social  conversation  and  amusements,  thin,  pale,  and  anaemic 
in  appearance. 

“  In  the  majority  of  cases,  especially  of  those  which  are 
connected  with  masturbation,  the  patient  is  unwilling  to 
speak  of  his  ailment,  and  particularly  reticent  concerning 
its  causes  and  nature.  To  this  peculiarity  may  be  attributed, 
in  great  measure,  the  uncertainty  and  difficulty  of  treat¬ 
ment.  A  physician  may  go  on  for  a  long  time,  treating  a 
case  of  this  kind  by  general  measures,  but  unless  he  should 
eventually  suspect  its  real  character,  and  satisfy  himself,  by 
closer  questioning,  of  the  accuracy  of  his  suspicions,  no  im¬ 
provement  will  be  manifest  in  the  condition  of  the  patient. 


266 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


In  fact,  the  patient  will  be  further  off  from  a  cure  than  ever; 
the  physician,  unconscious  of  the  ‘fons  et  origo  mali ,’  will 
get  baffled  and  disheartened  at  the  continuous  want  of  suc¬ 
cess,  while  the  patient,  becoming  more  reticent,  and  it  may 
be  more  addicted  to  the  bad  habit,  will  fall  into  an  almost 
hopelessly  chronic  state  of  illness  and  despair.  How  much 
better  would  it  be  for  the  patient’s  health  and  happiness,  if 
he  could  face  the  matter  boldly,  and  at  once  disclose  the 
nature  of  his  case  to  his  medical  adviser.  ‘  Half-confidences 
are  bad,’  remarked  one  of  our  most  distinguished  judges, 
Lord  St.  Leonards,  with  reference  to  legal  consultations; 
what,  then,  must  half-confidences  be  in  a  medical  consultation 
where  the  real  nature  and  origin  of  the  case  are  known 
only  to  the  patient  himself  ? 

“  If  the  patient  gives  a  fair  history  of  his  ailment,  the 
physician  will  usually  be  enabled  to  mark  out  a  definite 
course  of  successful  treatment.” 

Dr.  STORER,Yice-PrPsident  of  the  American  Medical  Associ¬ 
ation,  says,  concerning  the  hygiene  of  the  functions  of  sex  : — 

“  The  subject  is  one  that  concerns  all,  for  it  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  society — sexual  health  and  disease,  the  need  or 
advantage  of  marriage,  the  need  or  advantage  of  divorce,  the 
chance  of  home  being  such  or  an  empty  name,  an  earthly 
heaven  or  a  worse  than  purgatory — these  are  topics  that 
affect  each  man,  however  careless  or  unconcerned  he  may 
think  himself,  or  may  appear  to  be. 

“  Is  it  asked,  if  these  disclosures  are  not  by  their  very 
publication  subversive  of  good  morals,  and  the  calling  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  true  relation  of  the  sexes  suggestive  to  bad  men 
of,  and  conducive  towards,  their  false  relations  ?  I  answer — ■ 

“  First,  that  to  ignore  the  existence  of  sin,  error,  misery, 
is  in  reality  to  encourage  and  to  increase  them.  It  is  like 


THE  OPINION  OF  DR.  STORER. 


267 


valking  upon  thinly-crusted  lava,  or  upon  breaking  ice, 
certain  to  prevent  our  saving  others,  ready  indeed  to  ingulf 
even  ourselves.  We  varnish  over  or  seek  to  conceal  vice, 
and  it  loses  half  its  grossness — it  becomes  attractive  perhaps, 
or  fashionable ;  but  if  we  strip  it  of  its  veil,  any  soul,  not 
wholly  smirched,  will  recoil  with  horror. 

••  Again,  all  of  us  learn  the  lessons  of  life  by  experience — 
saci  experience,  indeed,  it  too  often  is.  Many  a  man  would 
give  even  his  own  soul  could  his  past  life  be  restored  to  him, 
and  its  follies,  its  sins  be  effaced.  Too  often  his  soul  is  no 
longer  his  own  to  give:  inextricably  entangled  in  passion’s 
web,  wound  about  and  about  with  its  myriad  threads,  there 
remains  but  the  dead  and  worthless  semblance  of  himself, 
that  can  be  restored  by  naught  save  the  boundless  grace  of 
God.  'W ho  would  not  gladly  escape  such  risk,  and  welcome 
every  premonition  of  danger  ? 

“  Still  again,  many,  claiming  to  be  immaculate  themselves, 
will  ask,  •  _A.m  1  my  brother’s  keeper  ?’  And  yet,  living 
together  in  communities,  as  we  do,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
we  are  responsible,  every  one  of  us,  and  to  a  very  great 
extent,  for  the  shortcomings  and  evil  deeds  of  all  the  rest, 
and  it  must  also  be  confessed  that  there  does  not  exist,  that 
there  probably  never  existed,  a  perfectly  immaculate  man* 
who  never  once  has  erred  in  the  very  matter  we  are  now 
considering,  either  in  deed,  or  in  word,  or  in  thought.  Con¬ 
soling  indeed  for  those  of  us  who  humbly  confess  our  in¬ 
firmities  is  this  very  fact.  Take  the  very  basest  of  us,  and 
he  at  times  is  tonscious  of  vain  regrets  of  his  own  misdeeds, 
and  a  fond  desire  that  those  whom  he  loves,  for  every  man 
has  such,  may  be  better  than  he.  Take  the  very  best  of  us, 
and  he  sees  a  height  beyond  any  he  has  yet  attained,  that 
he  prays  he  may  yet  reach  and  pass. 

“  And  further  :  not  merely  are  these  researches,  publications 

19 


268 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


for  the  general  weal,  perfectly  legitimate  and  advisable  in 
themselves ;  they  have  been  sanctioned  by  precedents  that 
have  already  been  established.  I  do  not  refer  to  the 
attempts  of  unprincipled  empirics  to  terrify  the  masses  by 
overdrawn  pictures  of  disease,  nor  of  holy  and  well-meaning 
men  to  turn  them  to  better  ways  by  fervent  descriptions  of 
the  wrath  to  come.  We  shall  take  neither  the  fear  of  things 
present  nor  future  as  our  standard  in  this  discussion,  but 
appeal  solely  to  each  man’s  reason — and  such  appeals  have 
been  made  before.  They  have  been  made  in  France  by 
Ricord,  by  Lallemand,  and  others  of  the  great  medical  phi¬ 
losophers  of  the  day ;  by  Parent-Duchatelet  and  by  Diday. 
In  England,  there  are  men  like  Acton,  who  dare  to  sound 
the  trumpet  of  alarm,  bringing  forward  their  facts  from 
private  practice,  from  the  hospital,  and  from  the  dead-house, 
and  drawing  from  these  indisputable  conclusions.  In  our 
own  country  there  are  men  like  those  brave  souls,  now  one 
of  them  at  least  translated  to  a  better  country,  Blatchford, 
and  Hodge,  and  Pope,  and  Barton,  and  Lopez,  and  Brisbane, 
physicians  of  the  very  highest  rank  in  their  profession,  who 
were  not  ashamed,  in  the  question  of  the  frequency  and  the 
ill  results  of  criminal  abortion,  to  take  stand  beside  me  upon 
the  platform  of  our  personal  knowledge,  and  knowing,  they 
dared  maintain.  I  will  cite  but  one  instance  more.  It  is 
that  of  a  good  man  now  gone  to  his  rest,  and  a  very  rock  he 
was  to  the  swelling  tide  of  moral  as  well  as  physical  evil — 
the  late  Professor  John  Ware,  of  Massachusetts.  His  little 
work  has  stayed  many  a  headlong  step  and.  saved  many  a 
soul  alive.” 

William  Acton,  M.R.C.S.,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Med.  and 
Chir.,  and  statistical  societies,  etc.  etc.,  in  the  preface  and 
introduction  to  his  work,  addressed  to  the  profession,  on  Die 


THE  OPINION  OF  DR.  ACTON. 


269 


Functions  and  Disorders  of  the  Reproductive  Organs, 
says : — 

“  Should  these  pages  accidentally  fall  into  the  hands  of  lay¬ 
men  of  sense  and  information,  many  of  the  facts  and  opinions 
to  be  found  therein  will,  I  apprehend,  prove  at  least  sugges¬ 
tive.  The  continent  student  will  find  reasons  for  continuing 
to  live  according  to  the  dictates  of  virtue.  The  dissolute 
will  be  taught,  on  positive  and  irrefragable  grounds,  the 
value  of  self-control.  The  married  man  will  find  advice  and 
guidance ;  and  the  bachelor,  who  is  often  placed  in  a  trying 
social  position,  will  glean  consolation  from  observing  that 
not  only  are  his  sexual  sufferings  appreciated  and  under¬ 
stood,  but  that  rules  are  given  him  for  their  mitigation. 
The  physiologist  will  see  his  principles  reduced  to  practice. 
The  comparative  anatomist  will  judge  how  much  light  his 
investigations  on  the  animal  kingdom  have  thrown  upon 
sexual  relations  in  man.  The  surgeon  will  learn  how  to 
manage  that  difficult  class,  the  hypochondriacal,  and  how  to 
address  himself  to  the  audacious  old  libertine  who,  setting  at 
naught  religious  principle  and  social  customs,  acts  in  open 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  his  country.  Lastly,  the  advocate 
who  practises  in  the  ecclesiastical  or  criminal  courts  will  here 
find  the  basis  for  many  valuable  arguments — nay  more,  he 
may  learn  how,  in  many  cases  of  guilt,  fair  cause  may  be 
shown  for  a  culprit’s  committal  to  a  lunatic  asylum  instead 
of  to  a  prison. 

“  Until  lately,  indeed,  many  standard  writers  on  the  gene¬ 
rative  system  have  practically  ignored  the  functional  aspect 
of  their  subject ;  dealing  with  the  whole  of  the  wonderful 
and  complex  machinery  of  which  they  treat  as  if  the  offices 
it  fulfils,  the  thousand  feelings  it  affects,  the  countless 
social,  moral,  and  scientific  interests  with  which  it  is  so 
intimately  connected,  were  of  little  or  no  moment.  Others 


2  VO 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


copy  their  predecessors,  and  perpetuate  statements  little  in 
accordance  with  the  advanced  state  of  science  at  the  present 
time. 

“  One  reason  of  this  reticence  is  obvious  enough.  The 
subject  has  been  considered  delicate — dangerous — unseemly 
- — just  as  well  let  alone,  even  in  scientific  works. 

“  Of  course  there  have  been  notable  and  honorable  ex¬ 
ceptions  to  this  (as  I  cannot  but  think)  rather  cowardly,  if 
not  prudish,  neglect  of  so  large  and  important  a  branch  of 
the  boundless  science  of  humanity.  Foremost,  perhaps, 
among  these,  I  may  be  permitted  to  specify  Or.  Carpenter. 
In  the  later  editions  of  his  ‘  Physiology,’  that  eminent  author 
has  boldly  met  the  difficulties  of  the  subject.  Far,  for  in¬ 
stance,  from  ignoring  the  existence  of  sexual  feelings,  he  has 
investigated  them  in  the  same  calm  and  philosophic  spirit 
with  which  he  has  approached  all  other  inquiries.  Popular 
prejudice  he  has  quietly  passed  by;  and  has  discussed  a 
physical  phenomenon,  an  intellectual  faculty,  or  a  sexual 
instinct,  with  equal  simplicity  and  completeness.  Indeed, 
every  step  in  physiological  science  seems  to  reveal  to  us 
something  more  of  that  mysterious  connection  between  the 
perishing  frame  and  the  imperishable  part  which  at  once 
rules,  and  is  so  largely  influenced  by  its  earthly  companion. 
I  conceive  it  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance  in  no  case  to 
neglect  or  ignore  their  connection,  and  perhaps  in  none  more 
than  in  the  case  of  the  generative  functions.  Those  func¬ 
tions,  and  the  feelings,  instincts,  and  tendencies  of  which 
they  are  the  exponents,  are,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful 
social  and  moral  agents  in  the  world.  They  are  fraught  with 
happiness  or  misery  to  generations  as  well  as  individuals. 

“  Plain  speaking  is  not  of  necessity  impurity.  It  is  not 
unfrequently  its  very  opposite.  I  admit  that  matter  so 
important  as  this  should  be  treated  gravely  and  by  compe- 


THE  OPINION  OF  MEDICAL  JOURNALS.  271 

tent  authority — not  left  to  the  scoffer  and  the  quack.  But 
I  believe  that  in  so  doing,  the  truest  wisdom  and  the  best 
means  of  securing  the  results  we  desire  will  be  found  in  a 
scientific  candor.” 

From  The  British  and  Foreign  Medico- Ghirurgical 
Quarterly  Review : — 

“We  doubt  whether,  among  our  human  relations,  there  is 
one  that  exerts  a  greater  influence  upon  most  of  us  than 
that  which  draws  its  impulses  from  the  sexual  feelings.  In¬ 
directly,  it  governs  the  whole  life  of  the  female,  from  the 
time  at  which  she  dandles  her  first  doll  to  the  time  when  she 
teaches  her  grandchild  “  pattycake,  pattycake ;”  the  vices 
and  the  virtues  of  the  sterner  sex — less  confessedly,  perhaps, 
but  no  less  really — result  from  the  vagaries  and  dreams  of 
boyhood,  or  the  waywardness  or  resolution  of  adult  age,  that 
are  prompted  by  the  sexual  instincts.  .  .  . 

“  Sexual  excesses  are  the  monster  evil  of  the  present,  no 
less  than  of  former  times ;  it  is  not,  except  in  particular 
forms,  a  subject  for  legislation,  because  legislation  cannot 
reach  it ;  but  it  is  essentially  a  subject  for  the  clergyman 
and  the  schoolmaster  to  deal  with.  It  is  folly  to  ignore 
what  every  man  who  has  been  at  school  must  know  to  pre¬ 
vail.  It  is  wisdom  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  holiest  aspira¬ 
tions  of  the  youth  to  enable  him  to  shun  evil,  not  from  fear 
— though  from  fear  if  need  be — but  from  a  just  appreciation 
of  the  immutable  laws,  which  may  be  traced  equally  in  Holy 
Writ  and  in  natural  theology.  We  trust  that  those  whose 
position  as  men  of  science  and  teachers  enables  them  to  speak 
with  authority,  will  assist  in  combating  and  arresting  the 
evils  which  it  entails,  and  thus  enable  man  to  devote  more 
enduring  energies  and  more  lofty  aims  to  the  advancement 
of  his  race,  and  to  the  service  of  his  God.” 


272 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


From  the  London  Lancet : — 

“  The  only  way  by  which  some  of  the  most  important  func¬ 
tional  ailments  and  aberrant  physiologic  states  affecting  hu¬ 
manity  can  be  rescued  from  the  grasp  of  the  most  disgusting 
and  villainous  quackery,  and  treated  with  benefit  to  the 
patient,  is  by  the  scientific  and  conscientious  practitioner 
openly  taking  them  under  his  own  charge.  .  .  . 

“  Now,  however,  that  legitimate  and  able  practitioners 
permit  themselves  to  be  known  as  willing  to  bestow  as  much 
consideration  on  the  aberrations  of  the  generative  functions 
as  on  those  of  any  other,  we  trust  that  some  stoppage  will 
be  put  to  the  basest  system  of  plunder  ever  conducted  under 
the  mask  of  ‘  medical  advice.’  ” 

The  Philadelphia  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter  for 
January  7,  1871,  in  an  able  editorial,  entitled  “The  Realm 
of  the  Quack,”  makes  the  following  remarks  : — 

“  Never  anywhere  in  the  field  of  human  studies  can  we  find 
more  striking  illustrations  of  the  dangers  and  the  evils  of 
ignorance  than  in  the  history  of  that  science  whose  votaries 
we  are.  Nothing  so  touches  the  human  heart,  nothing  so 
puts  to  its  utmost  strain  each  faculty  of  our  being,  as  the 
love  of  life,  the  fear  of  death,  the  dread  of  pain.  These  are 
the  all-powerful  and  universal  motives  to  which  in  every 
age  the  true  and  the  false  physician  appeal. 

“  The  true  physician  seeks  to  allay  unnecessary  and  un- 
philosophical  terror,  to  soothe  with  utmost  promptness  the 
suffering  he  witnesses,  to  instil  a  calm  resignation  to  the 
universal  law  of  death,  to  defer  that  inevitable  close  of  the 
career  by  wise  and  temperate  precautions,  and  to  defend  the 
public  from  the  approach  of  pain.  To  accomplish  this,  the 
master-minds  of  all  ages  are  agreed  that  the  most  effective 
means  is  the  diffusion  of  sound  knowledge.  Socrates  was 


THE  OPINION  OF  MEDICAL  JOURNALS.  273 


not  the  first  to  proclaim  that  the  source  of  physical  ar.d 
moral  evil  is  ignorance.  And  what  he  advanced  and  proved 
with  such  inexhaustible  subtlety  of  logic  and  profuseness  of 
illustration,  has  become  the  watchword  of  civilization  and 
the  hope  of  the  race. 

“  The  battle  we  have  to  fight  is  against  the  powers  of  intel¬ 
lectual  darkness ;  and  the  history  of  each  day  adds  another 
to  the  long  register  of  facts  that  proves  that  in  our  science, 
a?  in  all  others,  those  who  know  the  most  are  the  leaders 
and  the  true  benefactors  of  their  race. 

“  A  strong  illustration  of  this  axiom  is  found  in  the  history 
of  charlatanism.  Within  the  last  score  of  years  we  have 
seen  it  dispossessed  of  one  after  another  of  its  strongholds  by 
the  careful  study  of  them  by  able  and  conscientious  ob¬ 
servers.  Hysterical  phenomena,  long  the  peculiar  province 
of  miracle  vendors,  are  now  too  well  known  to  allow  them 
any  further  chance  for  their  bold  assumptions.  The  diseases 
of  women,  which  twenty  years  ago  was  in  its  twilight  period, 
is  now  a  branch  of  medical  science  abounding  in  distinguished 
masters,  and  its  most  important  facts,  those  which  it  is 
well  for  all  to  know,  have  been  laid  before  the  public  in 
popular  works  of  the  highest  order  of  merit,  and  which  will 
prevent  thousands  from  unwittingly  violating  the  laws  of 
their  organization. 

“  There  is  still  one  department  which  remains  far  too  largely 
in  the  hands  of  those  who  delight  to  p>lay  upon  human  suffer¬ 
ing,  and  to  foster  it  for  their  mercenary  ends.  Secret 
diseases  have  largely  passed  out  of  their  hands,  but  they 
still  thrive  upon  certain  complaints  which  a  native  shame 
disinclines  the  patient  to  reveal  to  his  family  physician. 

“  The  same  is  also  true  in' England.  In  a  recent  number 
of  one  of  the  leading  medical  weeklies  there,  after  remarking 
tbwt  '  quacks  only  thrive  in  that  part  of  medicine  which  is 


274 


MEDICAL  VIEWS. 


S 


neglected  by  the  faculty,’  it  adds,  ‘  hence,  since  there  have 
been  such  able  writers  on  syphilis  in  this  country,  that  field 
has  been  abandoned  by  these  dangerous  charlatans.  The 
only  field  left  now  for  the  quacks  is  that  of  spermatoi  rlioea 
and  the  functional  diseases  of  males.  The  Obstetrical 
Society  has  attacked  the  diseases  of  our  sisters  in  such  a 
positive  spirit,  that  the  outsider  has  no  chance  in  that  de¬ 
partment.  That  there  are  plenty  of  diseases  of  the  male 
reproductive  organs  besides  gonorrhoea  and  syphilis  well- 
educated  medical  men  know,  but  there  is  a  wonderful  disin¬ 
clination  to  taking  up  this  question.  We  have  a  few  honor¬ 
able  exceptions  in  the  names  of  Curling,  Erichsen,  and  more 
recently  Waring,  Curran,  and  Tee  van,  but  the  exception 
proves  the  rule  that  the  subject  is  still  in  the  twilight  epoch, 
and  hence  fit  to  be  seized  on  by  charlatans.  Let  us  hope 
that  our  best  young  men  may  soon  clear  away  the  silly 
mysteries  about  this  branch.’ 

“We  echo  that  hope  for  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
extend  to  it  the  wish  that  some  skilled  writer  would  dispel 
a  little  of  the  dense  popular  ignorance  around  these  subjects, 
an  ignorance  which,  shared  as  it  is  by  parents,  teachers,  and 
professors,  prevents  them  from  giving  instructions  to  their 
sons  and  pupilsv  by  which  the  latter  could  be  saved  from 
incalculable  pain,  mental  agony,  and  vice.  Every  physician 
and  most  teachers  must  have  witnessed  repeated  examples 
of  the  need  of  just  such  information.” 


THE  RELATION  OP  THE  SEXES 


IN 

EARLY  YOUTH. 


A  number  of  thoughts  which  occurred  to  us  while  writiL.a 
the  earlier  pages  of  this  work,  related  to  our  theme,  yet  not 
directly  forming  a  part  of  it,  seem  to  us  of  such  interest  and 
practical  bearing,  that  it  is  well  to  group  them  together  in 
the  form  of  an  appendix,  under  the  above  title. 

Too  often  the  student  of  nature,  accustomed  to  the  physi¬ 
ological  aspect  only  of  phenomena,  and  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  the  function,  regards  reproduction  as  the 
only  purpose  of  a  difference  of  sex.  He  considers  that  the 
end  is  attained  when  the  species  is  perpetuated,  and  may 
believe  that  could  this  be  accomplished  in  any  other  mode, 
then  sexuality  would  become  a  question  of  no  moment. 

The  incorrectness  of  such  a  narrow  view  as  this  has  been 
shown  with  extraordinary  force  of  thought  and  beauty  of 
language,  by  the  eminent  German  philosopher  and  critic 
Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  in  an  essay  on  “  The  Difference  of 
Sex  and  its  Influence  on  Organic  Nature.” 

We  cannot  enter  here  into  the  convincing  and  brilliant 
arguments  which  he  adduces  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  con¬ 
clusions  ;  we  shall  only  repeat,  in  a  brief  and  inadequate 
manner,  what  these  conclusions  are. 

The  distinction  of  sex,  in  his  eyes,  extends  to  the  mental 

(  275  ) 


2 16  THE  SEXES  IN  EARLY  YOUTH. 

and  moral  as  well  as  the  physical  traits.  “  Without  it,  nature 
would  no  longer  be  nature,  her  mechanism  would  cease,  and 
both  the  attraction  which  draws  individuals  together,  and 
the  struggle  which  forces  each  to  put  forth  his  best  energies, 
would  cease,  and  a  tedious,  debilitating  monotony  w'ould 
ensue.” 

The  male  is  everywhere,  and  in  all  his  manifestations, 
characterized  by  peculiar  traits,  and  the  female  by  others 
quite  as  much  her  own.  The  predominance  of  these  qualities 
in  either  sex,  however,  is  no  advantage,  but  a  disadvantage. 
In  the  highest  types  of  human  physical  beauty,  the  feminine 
and  masculine  traits  are  brought  into  intimate  union  and  a 
perfect  equilibrium.  In  the  Apollo  of  the  Belvidere,  magni¬ 
ficent  specimen  of  manhood  that  it  is,  there  is  yet  something 
feminine,  something  lends  the  grace  and  softness  of  the  other 
sex  to  the  powerful  muscles  and  manly  frame. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  that  most  perfect  model  of  the 
female  figure,  the  Venus  of  Milo,  exquisitely  feminine  as  it 
is,  there  lurks  constantly  some  line  or  vague  expression 
which  reminds  us  of  a  man.  Instinctively  the  ancient  artist, 
with  the  divination  of  genius,  recognized  and  gave  to  his 
work  that  unity  of  the  sexes  which  the  philosopher  reasons 
must  belong  to  the  perfect  human  creature. 

Let  us  exemplify  our  meaning  by  another  and  a  loftier 
example.  The  traditional  face  of  our  Saviour,  which  is  so 
familiar  to  us  in  Christian  art,  ancient  and  modern,  it  is 
well  known  is  not  a  likeness,  but  an  imaginary  portrait, 
developed  by  the  inspiration  of  ardent  piety,  and  perfected 
by  a  long  series  of  monastic  artists,  until  it  expresses  the 
ideal  of  their  highest  art-dreams.  And  who,  on  attentively 
examining  any  good  copy  of  this  traditional  face,  can  fail  to 
be  struck  with  the  feminine  softness  and  sweetness  which  are 
present,  and  which,  though  present,  do  not  in  the  least 


TWO  DIVERSE  THEORIES. 


277 


weaken  or  deduct  from  the  quiet  decision,  the  unalterable 
serenity,  the  unmeasured  power,  and  the  masterly  dignity  of 
the  countenance  ? 

What  is  in  these  lofty  efforts  o?  art  portrayed  in  the 
physical  powers  is  not  less  true  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
attributes.  The  remark  has  been  made  by  some  acute 
analyst  of  human  nature,  we  believe  by  Goethe,  that  there  is 
always  something  feminine  in  genius.  Certainly  that  dispo¬ 
sition  is  the  most  admirable,  and  that  intellect  most  powerful, 
which  include  in  themselves  what  we  are  accustomed  to  define 
as  the  masculine  and  feminine  attributes,  which  temper  the 
rude  force  of  man  with  the  delicate  sensibilities  of  woman, 
which  fortify  her  susceptible  nature  with  his  sterner  strength. 

These  views,  which  we  gather  from  the  realms  of  art  and 
philosophy,  are  not  idle  reveries.  They  have  an  immediate 
and  most  practical  bearing  on  our  own  lives,  on  self-culture, 
on  the  education  of  youth,  and  on  the  relation  of  the  sexes 
in  early  life. 

An  extended  study  of  social  life  discloses  to  us  two 
diverse  theories  which  have  prevailed,  and  still  obtain  in 
different  nations,  and  in  different  families  in  the  same  nation* 
with  reference  to  this  topic. 

The  one  holds  that  as  early  as  possible  in  life,  and  for  as 
long  a  time  as  possible,  it  is  wise  to  separate  the  sexes  and 
keep  them  separated. 

The  second  theory  insists  that  any  such  action  is  most 
inevitably  calculated  to  defeat  its  objects,  and  to  create  and 
foster  the  very  evils  it  is  designed  to  avoid. 

Let  us  examine  these  opinions. 

The  Theory  of  Seclusion. 

The  Oriental  nations  from  the  dawn  of  history  to  the 
present  hour,  as  a  rule,  confine  the  females  of  the  family  to 


278  T11E  SEXES  IN  early  youth. 

separate  apartments,  restrict  their  knowledge  of  the  world, 
and  debar  them  from  social  intercourse.  Young  men  grow 
to  maturity  without  having  any  general  female  society. 

In  Italy,  Spain,  and  many  other  of  the  European  coun- 
tries,  unmarried  girls  of  the  better  classes  are  sedulously 
secluded  in  seminaries  or  convents.  If  allowed  to  enter 
general  society  at  all,  it  is  under  the  strict  surveillance  of 
duennas,  or  other  elderly  female  friends.  Freedom  of  social 
intercourse  among  the  young  is  not  approved.  Parents  fear 
that  the  effect  will  be  injurious. 

In  England  there  is  much  difference  in  this  respect. 
From  ancient  times  the  women  of  Anglo-Saxon  lineage 
enjoyed  greater  freedom  than  those  of  the  South  of  Europe. 
They  were  never  shut  up  in  latticed  boudoirs,  and  hidden 
from  mankind  by  impervious  jalousies.  Their  children 
grew  up  as  playmates  and  companions. 

The  theory  of  seclusion  is  based  on  the  belief  that  moral 
restraint  applied  to  women  is  insufficient,  that  they  cannot 
be  trained  to  a  virtuous  self-control,  and  that  the  only  effica¬ 
cious  means  to  guard  them  from  social  dangers  are  to  keep 
them  in  profound  ignorance  and  to  deprive  them  of  every 
opportunity  of  transgression.  What  the  consequences  of 
such  a  theory,  deliberately  carried  out,  are  upon  the  woman 
we  need  not  explain  to  those  at  all  conversant  with  the 
social  morals  of  Spain  or  Italy. 

But  the  effects  of  this  plan  upon  the  male  sex  are  even 
worse.  The  young  man,  with  all  his  instincts  drawing  him 
toward  the  society  of  the  opposite  sex,  finds  none  of  it  which 
suits  his  age  and  aspirations.  He  naturally  turns  to  where 
it  can  be  found,  namely,  to  that  class  of  society  which 
spurns  the  restrictions  of  the  social  code,  and,  naturally 
enough,  those  also  of  the  moral  code. 

This  is  why,  in  all  the  continental  cities,  there  is  an  extec 


I 


A  DANGEROUS  SOCIAL  SCHOOL. 


279 


sive  and  well-defined  circle  known  as  the  demi-monde ,  an 
attractive,  agreeable,  and  dangerous  resort  for  the  young. 
The  polish  and  training  which  the  votaries  of  this  circle 
obtain  may  indeed  satisfy  the  superficial  demands  of  the 
world,  but  to  the  moralist,  to  the  admirer  of  the  sterner 
virtues,  to  the  lover  of  his  country,  such  a  training  is  por¬ 
tentous  in  the  extreme. 

The  nation  which  educates  its  youth  in  this  school  pro¬ 
vides  for  itself  an  enervated  and  false  civilization,  and  pre¬ 
pares  for  its  own  downfall. 

The  best  physical  training  is  not  that  which  sedulously 
guards  against  every  shock,  and  every  breath  of  cold  air, 
but  which  gives  to  the  body  endurance  and  vigor  to  en¬ 
able  it  to  bear  with  impunity  the  blasts  of  winter  and  the 
struggles  of  the  arena.  So  the  best  moral  training  h  not 
that  which  diligently  shuts  out  all  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  is  based  on  an  utter  distrust  of  natural  virtue, 
but  that  which  teaches  self-control,  ability  to  resist  evil  and 
cleave  to  the  good,  to  fight  and  overcome  temptation,  and  to 
be  actively  virtuous. 

This  training  is  not  to  be  had  on  the  theory  of  seclusion. 
To  attain  it  we  must  commence  education  from  a  different 
point,  and  wholly  alter  the  relation  of  the  sexes  in  early 
youth. 


The  Theory  of  Social  Union. 

Tn  this  country  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  young  man  who 
seek-,  the  society  of  the  loose  and  the  dissolute.  There  is  at 
all  times  and  everywhere  open  to  him  a  society  of  persons 
of  the  opposite  sex  of  his  own  age  and  of  pure  thoughts 
and  lives,  whose  conversation  will  refine  him,  and  drive 
from  his  bosom  ignoble  thoughts. 


230 


THE  SEXES  IN  EARLY  YOUTH. 


But  our  present  intention  is  not  to  discuss  tliis  question 
as  it  pertains  to  general  society,  but  to  confine  our  remarks 
to  the  period  of  boyhood  and  girlhood. 

As  we  remarked  in  the  earlier  pages  of  the  present  work, 
the  sexual  passion  is  developed  long  before  the  age  of 
puberty.  It  is  clearly  visible  in  children  of  even  tender 
years.  As  we  there  said,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  it  shall  be  restrained  and  controlled  to  the  utmost.  Can 
this  best  be  done  by  a  rigid  separation  of  the  sexes,  or  by  a 
free  communion  between  them  ? 

The  common  and  ancient  supposition  is  that  the  first 
mentioned  is  the  best  plan.  Yet,  as  we  have  shown,  this 
view  is  based  upon  a  fallacy.  The  Latin  proverb  tells  us 
we  strive  against  that  which  is  forbidden.  The  very  rarity 
of  an  object  excites  curiosity,  while  familiarity  breeds  indif¬ 
ference. 

Nowhere  is  this  more  true  than  in  the  history  of  the 
sexual  passion,  and  there  are  numbers  of  evidences  we  could 
adduce. 

That  ingenious  naturalist,  Mr.  Darwin,  explains  on  this 
ground  the  abhorrence  to  the  crime  of  incest.  It  is  well 
known  that,  with  widely  different  races  in  the  most  distant 
quarters  of  the  world,  marriages  between  relations,  even 
distant  relations,  have  been  strictly  prohibited.  At  first. 
Mr.  Darwin  thinks  that  a  slight  feeling  arising  from  the 
natural  indifference  of  familiarity  and  the  sexual  excitement 
of  novelty,  led  to  unions  between  members  of  different  rather 
than  of  the  same  families.  This  feeling  was  augmented 
through  “  natural  selection,”  and  finally  became  instinctive. 
It  seems  more  probable  that  degraded  savages  should  thus 
unconsciously  have  acquired  their  dislike  and  even  abhor¬ 
rence  of  \ncestuous  marriages,  rather  than  that  they  should 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  CO-EDUCATION.  2*1 

Rave  discovered  by  reasoning  and  observation  any  evil 
results  which  might  have  followed  on  such  unions. 

It  is  this  indifference  which  should  be  most  assiduously 
cultivated  in  the  young  of  both  sexes,  especially  in  males. 
Nature  herself  has  provided  for  it  to  some  extent  in  females. 
It  is  one  of  the  acute  observations  of  Wilhelm  von  Hum¬ 
boldt  that  such  an  indifference  is  the  rule  in  the  girl  when 
just  blossoming  into  womanhood.  To  quote  his  own  admi¬ 
rable  words :  “  The  first  emotions  of  her  youthful  heart 
wander,  like  the  glance  of  Diana,  into  the  far  distance.  The 
earliest  maidenly  age  is  thus  not  unfrequently  accompanied 
by  a  certain  want  of  feeling,  indeed,  inasmuch  as  the  femi¬ 
nine  mildness  depends  upon  the  development  of  those  emo¬ 
tions,  we  may  say  by  a  certain  hardness.  Some  characters 
hasten  over  this  period  so  rapidly  that  it  is  hardly  per¬ 
ceived,  but  in  most  it  is  visible  for  some  time.” 

There  is  strong  reason  to  hold  that  one  of  the  most  effec¬ 
tive  means  to  bring  about  this  indifference  of  familiarity  is 

by 


The  Co-education  of  the  Sexes. 

We  have  spoken  of  this  in  a  previous  part  of  this  work 
as  an  experiment,  about  the  result  of  which  we  are  not  quite 
fully  satisfied.  The  evidence  which  has  been  submitted  to 
the  public  is  nearly  all  in  its  favor.  We  are  still,  however, 
not  yet  inclined  to  give  it  our  unreserved  advocacy  ;  there 
are  many  consicerations  of  locality  and  custom  which  must 
“  give  us  pause  there  are  individual  instances  in  which  it 
cannot  be  approved,  and  there  are  limits  to  mixed  classes 
which  must  be  defined.  But  of  such  importance  as  a  prac¬ 
tical  question  do  we  consider  it,  that  we  venture  to  insert  an 
extract  of  some  length  from  the  last  Annual  Report  of  the 


282  THE  SEXES  IN  EARLY  YOUTH, 

Board  of  St.  Louis  Public  Schools,  written  by  the  efficient 
superintendent,  Professor  William  T.  Harris. 

He  remarks : — 

“  It  is  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  to 
treat  women  as  self-determining  beings,  and  as  less  in  want 
of  those  external  artificial  barriers  that  were  built  up  in 
such  profusion  in  past  times.  We  give  to  youth  of  both 
sexes  more  privileges  or  opportunities  for  self-control  than 
are  given  in  the  old-world  society.  Each  generation  takes  a 
step  in  advance  in  this  respect. 

“  Occasionally,  as  in  San  Francisco,  there  is  a  returning 
eddy  which  may  be  caused  by  the  unbalanced  condition  or 
society  found  on  frontiers.  Old  cities,  like  New  York  and 
Boston,  may  move  very  slowly  in  this  direction,  because  of 
enormous  expense  required  to  change  buildings  and  school- 
yards  so  as  to  adapt  them  to  the  wants  of  “  mixed  schools.” 
In  fact,  the  small  size  of  school-yards  in  many  cities  renders 
this  change  next  to  impossible.  Western  cities  wil1  take 
the  lead  in  this  matter  and  outstrip  the  East.  Within  fif¬ 
teen  years  the  schools  of  St.  Louis  have  been  entirely 
remodelled  on  this  plan,  and  the  results  have  proved  so 
admirable  that  a  few  remarks  may  be  ventured  on  the  expe¬ 
rience  which  they  furnish.  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  effects  on 
the  school  system  itself  and  of  the  effects  upon  the  individual 
pupils  attending. 

“  I.  Economy  has  been  secured  through  the  circumstance, 
that  the  co-education  of  the  sexes  makes  it  possible  to  have 
better  classification  and  at  the  same  time  larger  classes. 
Unless  proper  grading  is  interfered  with,  and  pupils  of 
widely  different  attainments  brought  together  in  the  same 
classes,  the  separation  of  the  sexes  requires  twice  as  many 
teachers  to  teach  the  same  number  of  pupils.  This  remark 
applies,  of  course,  particularly  to  sparsely  settled  districts. 


PROF.  HARRIS’  REPORT. 


283 


The  item  of  economy  is  very  considerable,  but  is  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  other  and  greater  advantages  arising. 

“  While  it  is  conceded  by  the  opponents  of  co-education 
that  primary  schools  may  be  mixed  to  advantage,  they  with 
one  accord  oppose  the  system  for  schools  of  a  higher  grade. 
Now,  what  is  singular  in  our  experience  is  the  fact  that  our 
high  school  was  the  first  experiment  on  this  plan  for  classes 
above  the  primary.  Economy  and  better  classification  were 
the  controlling  reasons  that  initiated  this  experiment,  and 
from  the  high  school  the  system  has  crept  down  through  all 
the  intermediate  grades.  What  had  been  found  practicable 
and  satisfactory  in  the  highest  grades  could  not  long  be 
kept  away  from  the  lower  ones. 

“  II.  Discipline  has  improved  continually  with  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  mixed  schools.  Our  change  in  St.  Louis  has  been  so 
gradual  that  we  have  *been  able  to  wTeigh  with  the  utmost 
exactness  every  point  of  comparison  between  the  two  systems. 

“  The  mixing  of  the  male  and  female  departments  of  a 
school  has  always  been  followed  by  improvement  in  disci- 
pline  ;  not  merely  on  the  part  of  the  boys,  but  on  that  of  the 
girls  as  well.  The  rudeness  and  abandon  which  prevail 
among  boys  when  separate,  at  once  give  place  to  self-re¬ 
straint  in  the  presence  of  girls.  The  prurient  sentimentality 
engendered  by  educating  girls  apart  from  boys — it  is  mani¬ 
fested  by  a  frivolous  and  silly  bearing  when  such  girls  are 
brought  into  the  society  of  the  opposite  sex — this  disappears 
almost  entirely  in  mixed  schools.  In  its  place  a  quiet  self- 
possession  reigns.  The  consequence  of  this  is  a  general 
prevalence  of  milder  forms  of  discipline.  Boys  and  girls 
originating — according  to  nature’s  plan — in  the  same  family 
as  brothers  and  sisters,  their  culture  should  be  together,  so 
that  the  social  instincts  be  saved  from  abnormal  diseased 
action.  The  natural  dependence  of  each  individual  upon  all 
20 


THE  SEXES  IN  EARLY  YOUTH. 


284 

the  rest  in  society  should  not  be  prevented  by  isolating  one 
sex  from  another  during  the  most  formative  stages  of  growth. 

“  III.  Instruction  is  also  greatly  improved.  Where  the 
sexes  are  separate,  methods  of  instruction  are  unbalanced 
and  gravitate  continually  towards  extremes  that  may  be 
called  masculine  and  feminine.  The  masculine  extreme  is 
mechanical  formalizing  in  its  lowest  shape,  aud  the  merely 
intellectual  training  on  its  highest  side.  The  feminine  ex¬ 
treme  is  the  learning-by-rote  system  on  the  lower  side,  and 
the  superfluity  of  sentiment  in  the  higher  activities.  Each 
needs  the  other  as  a  counter-check,  and  it  is  only  through 
their  union  that  educational  methods  attain  completeness 
and  do  not  foster  one-sidedness  in  the  pupil.  We  find  here 
that  mixed  schools  are  noted  for  the  prevalence  of  a  certain 
healthy  tone  which  schools  on  the  separate  system  lack 
More  rapid  progress  is  the  consequence,  and  we  find  girls 
making  wonderful  advances  even  in  mathematical  studies, 
while  boys  seem  to  take  hold  of  literature  far  better  for  the 
influence  of  the  female  portion  of  the  class. 

“  IV.  Individual  development  is,  as  already  indicated,  far 
more  sound  and  healthy.  It  has  been  found  that  schools 
kept  exclusively  for  girls  or  boys  require  a  much  more 
strict  surveillance  on  the  part  of  the  teachers.  The  girls 
confined  by  themselves  develop  the  sexual  tension  much 
earlier,  their  imagination  being  the  reigning  faculty,  and 
not  bridled  by  intercourse  with  society  in  its  normal  form. 
So  it  is  with  boys,  on  the  other  hand.  Daily  association  in 
the  class-room  prevents  this  tension,  and  supplies  its  place 
by  indifference.  Each  sex  testing  its  strength  with  the 
other  on  an  intellectual  plane  in  the  presence  of  the  teacher 
— each  one  seeing  the  weakness  and  strength  of  the  other — 
learns  to  esteem  what  is  essential  at  its  true  value.  Sudden 
likes  and  dislikes,  capricious  fancies  and  romantic  ideals 


THE  HIGHEST  EDUCATION. 


285 


give  way  for  sober  judgments  not  easily  deceived  by  mere 
externals.  This  is  the  basis  of  that  ‘  quiet  self-possession’ 
before  alluded  to,  and  it  forms  the  most  striking  mark  of 
difference  between  the  girls  or  boys  educated  in  mixed 
schools  and  those  educated  in  schools  exclusively  for  one 
sex 

“  That  the  sexual  tension  be  developed  as  late  as  possible, 
and  that  all  early  love  affairs  be  avoided,  is  the  desideratum, 
and  experience  has  shown  that  association  of  the  sexes  on 
the  plane  of  intellectual  contest  is  the  safest  course  to  secure 
this  end.” 

These  judicious  remarks,  by  one  who  has  long  and  atten¬ 
tively  studied  the  problem  under  advantageous  circum¬ 
stances,  are  so  clear  that  we  have  few  commentaries  to 
make  upon  them.  Of  course  there  are  certain  branches  of 
instruction  to  which  they  do  not  apply,  but  this  is  a  question 
we  do  not  enter  upon  in  this  connection. 

The  point  to  which  we  wish  to  draw  especial  attention  is 
what  Professor  Harris  calls  the  “  late  development  of  the 
sexual  tension,”  in  children  of  both  sexes  who  are  allowed 
freely  to  intermingle  in  the  pursuits  of  education. 

Furthermore,  as  we  have  shown  at  the  outset  of  this 
appendix,  that  education  itself  is  higher  which  develops  the 
latent  feminine  instincts  in  boys,  the  inherent  masculine 
traits  in  girls ;  which,  in  other  words,  tempers  each  sex  with 
the  best  characteristics  of  the  opposite  sex. 

Segregation  and  isolation  do  not  improve  the  morality 
nor  elevate  the  culture,  but  the  contrary.  From  the  earliest 
years  it  is  better  that  the  sexes  should  meet  in  an  unre¬ 
stricted  manner,  that  diffidence,  false  modesty,  and  spurious 
sentiment  should  be  avoided,  and  that  much  of  the  intellec¬ 
tual  and  social  training  should  be  in  common. 

While  this  is  true,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  social 


286 


THE  SEXES  IN  EARLY  YOUTH. 


basis  of  children’s  society  should  be  upon  the  same  theories 
as  that  of  adults. 

No  training  is  more  objectionable  and  more  caculated  to 
bring  about  precocious  maturity,  in  other  words,  to  foster 
the  very  tension  which  it  should  be  our  aim  to  discourage, 
than  to  introduce  into  the  thoughts  and  social  life  of  chil¬ 
dren  the  sentiment  of  sexual  love.  Hence  it  was  that  we 
have  said,  on  a  previous  page :  ‘‘  The  growing  custom  of 

allowing  very  young  people  of  both  sexes  to  associate  at 
parties,  balls,  dances,  and  similar  amusements  cannot  be 
approved  on  the  score  of  health.  It  is  nearly  certain  to 
favor  precocity.” 

Conversation  about  beaus  and  “  girls,”  reference  to  the 
admiration  of  the  opposite  sex,  teasing  about  early  loves, 
and  such  subjects,  on  which  too  many  parents  delight  to 
speak  with  their  children,  are  thoroughly  unwise. 

While  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  the  family  and  the 
school  is  *-kely  to  bring  about  a  condition  of  indifference,  it 
is  not  to  e  trusted  to  alone.  The  minds  of  the  young  are 
too  exci  ible  and  too  eager  for  novelties  to  be  left  to  their 
own  di  retion.  It  is  essential  that  they  be  occupied  with 
matte'  3  which  will  keep  them  away  from  seductive  and  in¬ 
sidious  subjects. 

The  pursuit  of  the  severer  studies,  such  as  mathematics, 
and  the  proper  training  of  the  physical  powers,  are  what  we 
must  chiefly  rely  upon  to  accomplish  this.  With  these  pre¬ 
cautions,  we  need  not  fear  the  result  of  the  freedom  which 
in  this  country  is  constantly  extending  in  reference  to  the 
relations  of  the  sexes  in  daily  life. 

While  these  associations  should  be  looked  upon  with 
approval,  they  should  not  be  unrestricted.  Even  in  our 
country,  in  which  we  boast  of  liberty  and  equality,  there  are 


A  NECESSARY  CAUTION. 


28* 


distinctions  in  society  which  we  do,  and  which  we  ought  to 
observe. 

It  is  better  that  cnildren  find  their  playmates  and  com¬ 
panions  among  those  of  their  own  social  position,  than  with 
others  less  carefully  nurtured.  Hence  the  impropriety  of 
trusting  them  too  largely,  as  is  often  done,  to  the  care  of 
domestics  and  to  the  companionship  of  their  children. 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX 


TO 

DISEASE. 


It  is  an  interesting  inquiry  to  what  extent  the  nature 
cnaracter,  and  frequency  of  disease  in  the  human  race  are 
influenced  by  sex.  The  power  of  sex  over  disease  exists  to 
no  inconsiderable  degree.  It  is  partly  due  to  the  difference 
in  the  physiological  and  partly  to  the  diversity  in  the  social 
life  of  man  and  woman.  The  extent  and  practical  bearing 
of  this  influence  upon  health  and  longevity  deserve  more 
attention  at  our  hands  than  they  have  received  in  an  inci¬ 
dental  manner  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

First,  we  shall  inquire  into 

Mail’s  Liability  to  Disease  a*  compared  to  Woman’s. 

In  other  words,  which  sex  is  the  more  subject  to  sickness, 
and  what  diseases  show  a  partiality  to  the  male  rather  than 
the  female  sex  ? 

The  most  natural  reply  to  this  question,  and  the  one  in 
accordance  with  popular  notions  on  the  subject,  is  that  woman, 
with  her  feebler  frame,  more  delicate  nervous  organization, 
and  her  host  of  affections  peculiar  to  herself,  is  more  fre¬ 
quently  and  dangerously  sick  than  man;  that  she  suffers 

(  289  ) 


290 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 


more,  and  dies  earlier.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  As 
we  have  pointed  out  in  speaking  of  “  the  physical  traits  of 
the  male,”  the  average  duration  of  life  is  greater  with  the 
gentler  sex,  who  more  frequently  attain  extreme  old  age  than 
their  sterner  partners  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Yet  it 
seems  very  like  a  paradox,  that  the  race  should  not  be  to  the 
strong.  Several  explanations  have  been  offered.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  man  succumbs  sooner  because  he  is  the 
more  exposed  to  danger  and  disease  by  his  avocations  and 
the  customs  of  society.  War,  which  costs  him  his  blood, 
costs  woman  only  her  tears.  For  him,  almost  alone,  are  the 
perils  of  the  intoxicating  cup,  the  exhaustions  of  the  de¬ 
bauch,  the  fearful  anxiety  of  the  stock-room,  and  the  excite¬ 
ment  of  the  political  arena.  The  risks  of  maternity  do  not 
equal  these  peculiar  perils  of  manhood.  Another  explana¬ 
tion  has  been  sought  in  the  finer  nervous  organization  of 
woman,  which  enables  her  to  endure  more  and  react  better. 
Man,  therefore,  suffers  less,  but  his  powers  of  resistance  are 
less,  and  the  tendency  to  death  greater. 

Both  these  explanations  are  doubtless  just,  and  account 
to  a  great  extent  for  the  singular  disparity  in  the  vitality  of 
the  two  sexes.  The  character  of  the  diseases  which  are  met 
with  in  men  more  frequently  than  in  women  explain  still 
further  the  seeming  anomaly. 

We  will  pass  in  review  some  of  the  principal  diseases 
which  our  flesh  is  heir  to,  and  note  the  sex  they  prefer. 

Apoplexy. 

Men  are  oftener  assailed  by  this  dangerous  disease  than 
women.  This  may  be  accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  well- 
known  fact  that  one  of  the  most  active  causes  of  apoplexy 
is  the  intemperate  use  of  fermented  liquors,  which,  in  some 
constitutions,  produce  a  speedy  impairment  of  the  functions 
of  the  brain.  Alcohol  also  exerts  a  pernicious  influence  in 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SEX  ON  EPILEPSY.  291 

many  instances  upon  the  heart  and  arteries.  The  heart's 
action  is  not  only  increased  under  its  influence,  but  positive 
alterations  in  the  structure  of  the  bloodvessels  take  place. 
In  such  instances,  we  find  the  movements  of  the  heart  per¬ 
manently  quickened,  and  the  blood,  therefore,  driven  more 
forcibly  to  the  brain,  while  the  coats  of  the  arteries  having 
lost  their  elasticity  by  a  thickening  or  thinning  (perhaps 
ulceration)  of  their  substance  are  more  readily  ruptured  by 
this  forcible  current,  and  hence  the  tendency  to  hemorrhage 
in  the  brain  is  vastly  increased.  The  excessive  use  of  tobacco 
is  also  supposed  to  predispose  to  congestion  of  the  brain,  and 
consequently  to  apoplectic  attacks.  As  the  excessive  em¬ 
ployment  of  alcohol  and  tobacco  are  essentially  vices  of  the 
male  sex,  we  may  attribute  to  them,  in  part,  the  greater 
liability  to  apoplectic  attacks  to  which  men  are  the  victims. 

Epilepsy. 

This  disease  also  is  more  prone  to  attack  the  male  sex. 
An  exception,  however,  is  to  be  made  in  this  respect  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  French,  particularly  Parisians.  All  French 
authors  agree  that  in  Paris  at  least  there  are  more  women 
epileptics  than  men.  Esquirol,  the  highest  of  the  French 
authorities,  states,  after  carefully  comparing  the  number  of 
patients  at  various  asylums,  that  the  number  of  women 
attacked  was  one-third  greater  than  that  of  the  men.  Eng¬ 
lish  writers,  however,  are  unanimous  as  to  the  greater  pro¬ 
clivity  to  epilepsy  being  on  the  side  of  the  male  sex.  An 
analysis  of  the  returns  of  the  Registrar-General  of  England 
with  reference  to  the  mortality  from  this  disease  in  either  sex, 
during  the  past  seven  years,  shows  that  6729  were  males  and 
6149  females.  Hence,  “  it  would  appear  that  the  mortality 
of  males  at  all  ages  from  epilepsy  is  52.26  per  cent.,  of  females 
47.73  per  cent.,  and  that,  therefore,  4.53  per  cent,  of  male 
deaths  occur  from  epilepsy  in  excess  of  female  deaths  from 


292 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 


that  cause ;  or,  to  put  it  in  a  different  way,  we  find  that 
the  average  male  deaths  in  one  year  from  epilepsy  are 
961.3,  of  females  878.1  ;  so  that  annually  in  England  and 
Wales  83.2  more  males  die  epileptic  than  females.”  The 
census  of  the  United  States  shows  also  that  in  America 
more  men  die  epileptic  than  women. 

Men  when  attacked  by  epilepsy  are  more  apt  to  die  o 
the  disease  than  women.  This  greater  liability  to  death  on 
their  part  is  not  confined  to  epilepsy,  but  is  true  of  all  dis¬ 
eases  of  the  nervous  system,  for  whether  in  children,  youth, 
or  old  age,  death  from  these  affections  is  more  prevalent  in 
the  male  than  the  female  sex.  Very  extended  statistics 
have  shown  that  during  the  first  five  years  of  life  the  deaths 
among  males  from  nervous  diseases  are  greater  by  one-fifth 
than  among  females. 

St.  Vitus’  Dance. 

This  disease,  known  to  physicians  under  the  name  of 
chorea,  unlike  apoplexy  and  epilepsy,  is  both  more  frequent 
and  more  fatal  with  the  female  than  the  male  sex.  It  is 
essentially  a  disease  of  children,  being  rarely  met  with  after 
twenty.  From  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age  is  the  favorite 
period  of  life  for  this  affection,  and,  according  to  some  of  the 
most  reliable  statisticians,  girls  are  three  times  more  fre¬ 
quently  the  sufferers  than  boys. 

Hysteria. 

This  nervous  affection  is  almost  monopolized  by  the  female 
sex.  It  is  nearly  exclusively  met  with  in  women  between 
the  ages  of  fourteen  and  thirty.  It  is  a  mistake,  however, 
to  suppose  that  men  are  never  hysterical.  We  have  more 
than  once  seen  attacks  of  veritable  hysteria  in  the  male  sex. 
Under  the  influence  of  excitement  and  debility,  men,  of  a 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SEX  ON  HEADACHE.  293 


certain  temperament,  are  not  unfrequently  seized  with  hys¬ 
terics.  Shakspeare,  the  great  master  of  the  human  passions, 
was  aware  of  this.  He  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Lear,  upon 
hearing  Kent’s  account  of  the  cause  of  his  being  placed  in 
the  stocks,  the  words  : — 

“  0,  how  this  mother  swells  up  toward  my  heart ! 
Hysterica  passio  !  down,  thou  climbing  sorrow, 

Thy  elements  below  !” 

A  common  name  for  hysteria  in  Shakspeare’s  time  was 
the  mother ,  by  which  term  Lear  therefore  first  designates 
his  feeling  before  employing  the  more  learned  Latin  syno- 
nyme. 

Neuralgia. 

This  disease  is  more  common,  because  probably  of  their 
greater  exposure  to  the  exciting  causes,  in  men  than  in 
women.  But  that  form  of  neuralgia  which  takes  the  shape 
of  headache,  is  more  of  a  feminine  than  a  masculine  affliction. 

Headache. 

There  are  few  women  who  are  not  more  or  less  sufferers 
from  attacks  of  headache ;  many  men  are  never  troubled  in 
this  way.  Women  not  only  are  more  subject  to  this  affec¬ 
tion,  but  they  also  suffer  more  severely.  Intensity  of  pain 
depends  greatly  upon  the  susceptibility,  the  capacity  for 
suffering  on  the  part  of  the  individual.  It  is  only  by  poeti¬ 
cal  license  that  it  can  be  said,  an  insect  crushed  feels  the 
pangs  of  a  dying  giant.  The  delicate  sensibility  of  woman 
imposes  upon  her  greater  suffering  from  the  same  amount  of 
pain. 

The  headaches  peculiar  to  the  female  sex  are  very  nume¬ 
rous.  In  men,  late  hours,  improper  food  or  habits  of  eating, 
dissipation,  excessive  or  prolonged  mental  toil,  business 
anxieties,  and  want  of  exercise,  are  the  principal  causes  of 


294 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 


headache.  In  women,  exposure  to  the  night  air  while  thinly 
clad,  tight  lacing,  a  too  sedentary,  indoor  life,  imprudence 
at  the  monthly  epochs,  and  family  cares,  are  the  main  in¬ 
fluences  which  induce  it. 


Insanity. 

Males  are  more  liable  to  insanity  than  females,  in  the  pro¬ 
portion,  according  to  the  latest  and  most  trustworthy  tables, 
of  fifty-three  per  cent,  of  males  to  forty-six  per  cent,  of  fe¬ 
males.  The  period  of  life  during  which  women  are  most 
subject  to  this  disease,  and  most  apt  to  die  from  its  effects, 
is  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty.  Most  of  the  men, 
on  the  contrary,  who  die  of  this  disease,  are  between  the 
ages  of  forty  and  sixty,  a  time  when  strength  and  hope  so 
often  fail  the  anxious  man  of  business. 

Bronchitis. 

Men  are  more  liable  to  be  assailed  by  inflammation  of  the 
bronchial  tubes  than  women.  This  is  probably  due,  to  a 
great  extent,  to  their  greater  exposure,  in  outdoor  life,  to 
the  causes  which  induce  bronchitis. 

Asthma. 

The  male  sex  is  much  more  predisposed  to  this  trouble¬ 
some  affection  than  the  female.  According  to  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  some  physicians  of  the  widest- practice  in  this  disease, 
about  eighty  per  cent,  of  all  the  patients  are  of  the  masculine 
gender. 

Consumption. 

This  fatal  disease  numbers  more  victims  among  the  female 
than  the  male  sex.  Sex  influences,  also,  the  time  of  devel¬ 
opment  of  the  symptoms  when  the  affection  is  hereditary. 
Thus  in  males  the  malady  manifests  itself  about  a  year  and 
a  half  later,  on  the  average,  than  in  females. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SEX  ON  CONSUMPTION.  295 

Dr.  Edward  Smith,  F.  R.  S.,  etc.,  Physician  to  the  Hospital 
of  Consumption  and  Diseases  of  the  Chest,  Brompton,  in  a 
review  of  a  large  number  of  cases  of  consumption,  and  of 
the  conditions  of  system  and  circumstance  which  had  aggra¬ 
vated  the  disease,  says : — 

“  One  striking  feature  to  which  we  must  refer  wras  the 
greater  liability  of  the  female  over  the  male  sex  to  many  of 
the  ills  to  which  we  have  referred.  Thus,  in  reference  to 
the  parents,  more  mothers  than  fathers  had  children  early, 
had  feeble  general  health,  and  had  died  early.  Of  the  pa¬ 
tients,  more  females  than  males  had  mothers  who  died  early, 
had  most  relatives  who  had  died  of  consumption,  had  parents 
with  one  child  only,  had  experienced  feeble  health  and  de¬ 
fective  appetite  through  life,  had  had  delicacy  of  the  lungs, 
wrere  married  when  very  young,  had  feeble  children,  had  lost 
most  children,  had  suffered  from  anxiety,  had  had  measles, 
scarlet  fever,  and  hooping-cough,  had  not  worn  flannel  next 
the  skin,  had  a  very  defective  education,  wrere  of  susceptible 
temperament,  had  brown  eyes,  florid  complexion,  and  fleshy 
habit,  and  had  suffered  from  coldness  of  the  extremities. 
This  is  most  striking  evidence  of  the  liability  of  females  to 
conditions  tending  to  constitutional  disease.” 

Lung  Fever. 

Cases  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs  occur  much  more  fre¬ 
quently  among  males  than  females.  The  influence  of  sex  in 
the  causation  of  the  disease  is  probably,  however,  more  ap¬ 
parent  than  real.  Men  are  more  generally  exposed  to 
changes  of  temperature,  which  are  the  principal  exciting 
causes  of  the  disorder. 

Heart  Disease. 

Organic  disease  of  the  heart  is  more  common  in  men  than 
in  women.  The  latter,  however,  are  more  liable  to  palpita- 


296 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 


tion  of  the  heart  unconnected  with  disease  of  the  structure 
of  that  organ. 

Aneurism. 

Males  are  more  frequently  affected  with  aneurism  than 
females.  According  to  the  statements  of  some  surgeons  of 
the  largest  experience,  more  than  seven-eighths  of  all  cases 
occur  in  men.  This  greater  liability  of  the  male  sex  is  due 
to  the  relative  frequency  in  that  sex  of  fatty  and  earthy  de¬ 
generations  of  the  coats  of  the  arteries,  and  not,  as  has  been 
well  pointed  out  by  Prof.  Gross,  to  the  difference  in  the  oc¬ 
cupation  and  habits  of  the  two  sexes.  In  the  words  of  the 
professor  of  surgery  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  “the 
opinion  which  ascribes  the  greater  frequency  of  spontaneous 
aneurism  in  males  than  in  females  to  their  more  laborious 
occupation,  their  more  intemperate  habits,  and  their  greater 
exposure  to  all  kinds  of  disease,  is  entirely  untenable,  an-d, 
therefore,  unworthy  of  confidence.  Women,  it  is  true,  are 
not  sailors,  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  or  hod-carriers,  but  in 
many  parts  of  the  wrorld  they  are  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  en¬ 
gaged  in  almost  every  variety  of  pursuit  calculated  to  rup¬ 
ture  the  arterial  tissues  if  they  were  in  a  serious  state  of 
disease,  such  as  we  so  often  meet  with  in  the  other  sex.” 

Gout. 

Women  sometimes  suffer  from  gout,  but  neither  so  fre¬ 
quently  nor  so  severely  as  men.  Hippocrates  stated  that 
women  were  not  liable  to  gout  at  all  until  after  the  change 
of  life.  This  is  not  strictly  true,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that 
women  are  most  subject  to  this  disease  before  puberty  and 
after  the  change  of  life,  and  but  rarely  affected  by  it  during 
the  intervening  period. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SEX  ON  DROPSY.  297 


Rheumatism. 

The  statistics  of  rheumatic  affections  show  that,  prior  to 
the  age  of  forty,  more  men  than  women  die  from  rheumatic 
inflammations.  After  the  age  of  forty,  a  curious  change 
takes  place  in  this  respect.  The  female  constitution  is  so 
altered  that  she  becomes  the  one  most  readily  affected  with 
this  malady.  From  forty  to  sixty  more  women  die  than 
men  from  the  direct  and  indirect  effects  of  rheumatic  fever 
and  inflammation  of  the  joints.  This  much  greater  frequency 
of  the  disease  in  women  after  the  change  of  life  has  been 
ascribed  to  the  greater  tendency  of  the  skin  to  perspire, 
and  hence  the  greater  danger  of  checked  perspiration. 

Dropsy. 

Men  are  more  frequently  afflicted  with  dropsical  effusions 
than  women.  From  forty  to  fifty  years  of  age,  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  deaths  from  this  malady  is  nine  males  to  five  females-, 
from  fifty  to  sixty,  the  still  greater  ratio  of  fourteen  males 
to  six  females.  Here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  some  of  the 
other  diseases  we  have  mentioned,  the  cause  of  the  disparity 
between  the  sexes  may  be  in  a  measure  accounted  for  by 
the  more  frequent  instances  of  excesses  in  the  use  of  intoxi¬ 
cating  liquors  with  men  than  women.  For,  in  the  language 
of  Prof.  Hickson,  “  Intemperance  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirits 
is  one  of  the  most  prolific  sources  of  dropsy  in  its  worst 
forms.  Whether  this  fatal  habit  be  carried  to  the  extreme 
of  sottish  debauchery  and  drunkenness,  or  limited  to  such 
indulgence  as  may  be  allowed  without  actual  exposure  and 
ruin  to  the  reputation,  the  effect  is  ultimately  the  same;  the 
vitality  of  the  system  is  exhausted  by  the  incessant  applica¬ 
tion  of  inordinate  stimuli;  the  powers  of  the  stomach  are 
worn  out  by  the  repetition  of  excesses,  each  more  debili 


298 


THE  RELATION  OF  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 


tating  than  the  former,  or  its  tissues  thickened  and  inflamed 
by  being  so  constantly  bathed  in  a  heating  and  almost 
caustic  fluid ;  the  viscera  concerned  in  digestion  become 
universally  obstructed  and  indurated,  and  disease  and  death 
must  at  length  ensue.” 

Enlargement  of  the  Liver. 

Increase  in  the  size  of  the  liver  occurs  more  frequently  in 
females.  The  highest  living  authority  upon  diseases  of  this 
organ,  Dr.  Murchison,  of  England,  attributes  this  to  the 
practice  of  tight-lacing,  so  much  in  vogue  among  fashion¬ 
able  women.  Occasionally  also  the  same  effect  is  produced 
by  the  habitual  wearing  of  a  tight  belt  by  a  man. 

Constipation. 

There  is  a  greater  tendency  to  costiveness,  and  conse¬ 
quently  a  greater  liability  to  the  many  evil  results  it  brings, 
among  females  than  males.  The  reasons  commonly  assigned 
for  this  are  the  more  sedentary  habits  and  over-confinement 
to  the  house  of  women. 


Cancer. 

Cancerous  disease  is  of  more  frequent  occurrence  among 
women  than  men.  Thus,  it  has  been  found  that  of  the 
11,662  persons  who,  during  a  period  of  five  years,  died  from 
it  in  England  (exclusive  of  the  city  of  London),  there  were 
8746  women  and  2916  men.  That  is  to  say,  three  times  as 
many  women  as  men  lost  their  lives  through  this  terrible 
malady.  The  womb  and  the  breasts  are  the  favorite  sites 
of  malignant  tumors  in  women.  It  is  owing  to  this  extra¬ 
ordinary  predilection  of  malignant  disease  for  these  parts, 
that  women  suffer  so  much  more  than  those  of  the  other  sex. 


DISEASE  PECULIAR  TO  OLD  MEN. 


299 


Stone  in  the  Bladder. 

This  affection,  so  common  in  certain  districts  of  the  coun¬ 
try  with  males,  is  very  rarely  met  with  in  women.  This  is 
owing  largely  to  anatomical  reasons. 

Typhoid  Fever. 

To  this  affection  women  are  less  subject  than  men.  There 
is  also  a  greater  mortality  among  male  patients  than  female. 

The  influence  of  sex  over  disease  is  apparent,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  many  of  the  most  common  and  serious  maladies,  in 
reference  to  the  liability  to  attack,  the  character  of  the  in¬ 
vasion,  and  its  mortality.  Each  sex  is  also  subject  to  its 
peculiar  disorders.  A  few  words  upon  those  peculiar  to  men 
will  not,  we  trust,  be  without  practical  value. 

A  Disease  peculiar  to  Old  Men. 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  called  attention  to  the  nervous 
disorders  originating  in  the  male  generative  system,  their 
causes,  and  the  prospects  and  means  of  cure.  To  these, 
therefore,  we  need  not  recur.  But  there  are  certain  local 
troubles  to  which  the  male  sex  is  liable  as  years  advance 
which  have  not  yet  been  more  than  alluded  to  by  us;  one 
of  these  is  an  affection  known  •as  enlargement  of  tlie  pros¬ 
tate  gland.  This  gland,  situated  immediately  in  front  of 
the  neck  of  the  bladder,  when  it  increases  in  size  causes 
much  inconvenience  and  suffering. 

The  causes  of  this  enlargement  are,  according  to  Prof. 
Gross,  always  those  “which  act  in  a  slow  and  permanent 
manner.  Whatever,  therefore,  has  a  tendency  to  keep  up 
habitual  engorgement  in  the  organ  may  be  considered  as 
being  capable  of  producing  the  affection.  Augmented 
action  necessarily  occasions  an  augmented  afflux  of  blood 
and  a  corresponding  increase  of  nutrition.  Diminished 
21 


300  THE  RELATION  OE  SEX  TO  DISEASE. 

action  has  a  reverse  effect.  Amongst  the  more  frequently 
enumerated  causes  of  the  malady  are  excessive  venery, 
stricture  of  the  urethra,  disease  of  the  bladder,  horseback 
exercise,  gonorrhoea,  and  the  employment  of  stimulating 
diuretics;  but,  in  general,  the  influence  of  these  causes  is 
apparent  rather  than  real.  They  are,  no  doubt,  all  capable 
of  inducing  the  disease;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally 
certain  that  they  are  often  accused  when  they  are  entirely 
innocent.  Some  of  the  very  worst  cases  of  hypertrophy  of 
the  prostate  occur  in  old  men  who  have  led  the  chastest  of 
lives,  who  have  not  ridden  on  horseback  for  forty  or  fifty 
years,  and  who  have  never  had  the  slightest  disease  of  any 
kind  of  the  urethra.” 

The  symptoms  which  first  attract  attention  are  mainly 
those  which  aro  connected  with  the  voiding  of  water — irrita¬ 
tion,  a  frequent  desire,  difficulty  in  passing  it,  and  slight 
pain.  The  lower  bowel  “never  feels  empty,  even  after  the 
most  thorough  purgation.”  These  symptoms  gradually  in¬ 
crease  and  bring  others  in  their  train.  When  noticed  at 
the  age  of  fifty  or  over,  they  should  lead  the  individual  to 
seek  at  once  medical  counsel  in  order  that  aid  may  be  ex¬ 
tended  him  at  the  outset  of  the  trouble.  He  should,  also, 
scrupulously  avoid  all  irritating  and  stimulating  foods  and 
drinks,  and  never  take  any  griping  purgatives.  Salts, 
citrate  of  magnesia,  and  cream  of  tartar  are  innocent  and 
beneficial  laxatives  to  employ.  All  these  causes  which  we 
have  just  enumerated  as  liable  to  excite  the  disease  must  be 
avoided — hence  horseback  exercise  and  sexual  intercourse 
are  eminently  improper.  Rest  in  a  recumbent  position  is  of 
very  great  service.  Of  course,  this  should  not  be  carried  to 
the  extent  of  the  avoidance  of  all  gentle  exercise  in  the  open 
air  during  pleasant  weather. 


DISEASE  PECULIAR  TO  OLD  MEN. 


301 


Few  men  in  advanced  life  escape  altogether  some  trouble 
with  the  bladder  and  contiguous  organs.  It  is  important, 
therefore,  for  every  individual  to  avoid  everything  which 
experience  has  taught  him  will  excite  even  temporary  dis¬ 
comfort  of  these  parts.  That  moderation  in  the  gratification 
of  all  desires,  which  is  so  conducive  to  health  in  early  and 
middle  life,  becomes  imperative  now,  when  there  is  no  surplus 
ritality  to  be  drawn  upon  to  repair  the  ravages  of  impru¬ 
dence. 


THE  MORAL  RELATIONS 


OP  THE 

SEXUAL  LIFE. 


We  have  confined  ourselves  so  far  in  our  considerations 
bn  the  relations  of  the  sexes  to  the  physiological  aspects  of 
the  question,  its  physical  and,  to  some  extent,  its  intellectual 
bearings.  It  seemed  more  appropriate  to  the  nature  of  our 
studies  and  to  the  character  of  our  researches.  Now,  how¬ 
ever,  that  we  have  brought  our  labors  so  nearly  to  a  close, 
and  have  examined  the  peculiarities  of  sex  in  their  various 
bearings  upon  the  temporal  welfare  of  the  individual  and  the 
race,  we  may  be  permitted  to  step  aside  from  our  path  and 
explain  the  influence  which  these  powerful  instincts  have 
exerted  and  continue  to  exert  on  his  actions  and  destiny  as 
a  moral  being. 

The  historian  or  theologian  who  does  not  carefully  esti¬ 
mate  the  strength  and  power  of  the  sexual  impulses  will 
often  fail  to  interpret  the  actions  and  the  creed  of  past  gene¬ 
rations.  He  will  attribute  to  motiveless  caprice  and  to  un¬ 
meaning  malignity  many  actions  which  were  merely  the 
expression  of  an  uncontrolled  instinct. 

So  also  in  the  lives  of  individuals,  it  is  a  matter  of  daily 
observation  that  in  these  respects  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 

(  303  ) 


S04  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


understand  the  vagaries  which  govern  otherwise  prudent  and 
cautious  men. 

The  Sexual  Relations  in  Heathendom. 

Did  we  desire  to  magnify  the  importance  of  our  theme, 
we  could  readily  illustrate  from  history  how  in  all  times  it 
has  so  fastened  itself  upon  the  minds  of  men  that  it  has 
shaped  their  destiny  and  even  formed  the  basis  of  their 
hopes  beyond  this  life. 

Every  student  of  mythology  is  aware  that  the  rites  of 
many  primitive  religions  are  but  the  complex  symbols 
which  represent  the  power  of  transmitting  life,  and  that  the 
myths  which  have  been  devised  to  perpetuate  the  significa¬ 
tion  of  these  rites  are  but  veiled  descriptions  of  the  same 
fact.  The  East  Indian  God  appears  under  his  triple  form 
of  the  Creator,  the  Preserver,  and  the  Destroyer ;  and  in  his 
form  as  the  creator,  he  is  represented  by  and  worshipped 
under  the  image  of  the  membrum  virile.  The  bull  Mithra 
in  Persian  story,  and  the  god  Bel  who  was  worshipped  on 
the  plains  of  Euphrates,  are  repetitions  of  the  same  idea. 

As  might  be  expected,  such  distorted  conceptions  of 
divinity,  this  confusion  of  ideas  which  confounded  together 
the  creation  and  the  transmission  of  the  vital  principle,  led 
to  licentious  ceremonies  and  a  general  abasement  of  the 
moral  sense.  The  scenes  recorded  by  the  Hebrew  prophets 
which  transpired  in  ancient  Babylon,  and  which  were  parts 
of  the  religious  observances  of  that  city,  necessarily  laid  the 
foundation  for  that  disintegration  of  society  and  destruction 
of  individual  powers  which  finally  resulted  in  the  ruin  of  the 
state. 

When  the  antique  austerity  of  the  classical  republic  of 
Greece  and  Rome  became  tainted  with  the  corruption  of 
Oriental  communications,  the  most  glorious  traits  of  these 
commonwealths  disappeared,  and  in  their  place  came  Caesar* 


SEXUAL  RELATIONS  IN  THE  MOSAIC  LAW.  305 

rsm  and  profligacy.  So  clearly  was  this  introduction  of 
foreign  religious  rites  the  commencement  of  the  state’s  de¬ 
terioration,  that  the  ancient  heathen  historians,  Tacitus  for 
example,  directly  attribute  it  to  this  cause. 

We  refer  to  these  degraded  misconceptions  of  physical 
truths,  and  this  apotheosis  of  the  animal  instincts,  so  that  we 
may  bring  into  stronger  contrast  with  them  the  just  and 
beautiful  estimate  which  was  given  them  by  Christianity. 

Sexual  Relations  in  the  Mosaic  Law. 

The  Old  Testament  by  its  clear  and  sublime  teachings 
preserved  the  Israelites  from  the  contamination  by  which 
they  were  surrounded.  Situated  in  the  midst  of  nations  by 
whom  an  unlicensed  debauchery  was  regarded  as  a  part  and 
parcel  of  religious  life,  the  chosen  people  successfully  main¬ 
tained  its  purity,  and  even  in  the  darkest  hour  of  its  history 
there  were  found  four  hundred  men  who  had  never  bowed 
the  knee  to  Baal. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Mosaic  law  are  most  explicit  in  what 
relates  to  individual  purity.  Far  from  passing  by  in  silence 
these  delicate  relations  as  indifferent,  or  of  doubtful  utility, 
or  as  possibly  harmful  if  discussed  openly — as  the  modern 
fashion  widely  prevails— the  sacred  word  enters  with  singu¬ 
lar  minuteness  into  the  admonitions  for  chastity,  for  temper¬ 
ance  in  the  marital  relation,  and  for  sanitary  precautions 
connected  therewith. 

We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  quote  all  the  many  texts 
which  are  at  hand  to  support  this  assertion.  Any  one  who 
will  take  the  pains  to  examine  the  various  chapters  ill 
Leviticus  and  Deuteronomy,  which  contain  the  directions  to 
single  and  married  men,  will  there  find  an  explicitness  and 
a  minuteness  which  writers  of  the  present  day  cannot 
attempt  to  imitate. 


306  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE 


It  will  be  of  interest  and  value,  however,  to  recall  and 
clothe  in  modern  language  the  directions  given  on  some  of 
the  points  to  which  we  have  referred  in  the  preceding  chap¬ 
ters,  both  for  the  purpose  of  substantiating  what  we  have 
just  said  and  to  admire  again  the  accuracy  and  wisdom  of 
the  inspired  word,  even  in  its  minutest  portions. 

In  regard  to  nocturnal  and  involuntary  emissions  the 
law  distinctly  recognizes  them  as  an  “  uncleanness.”  The 
man  was  ordered  to  bathe  himself  thoroughly  in  water,  and 
his  garments  likewise  The  cold  bath,  the  value  of  which 
to  control  such  discharges  we  have  several  times  emphasized, 
was  thus  early  enjoined  for  the  same  affection.  A  soldier 
who  was  so  disturbed  during  war  was  to  wander  about 
outside  the  camp  during  the  whole  of  the  next  day,  and  at 
night,  when  fatigued  with  the  exercise,  was  to  bathe  himself 
and  return.  The  exercise  and  the  cold  affusion  were  quite 
certain  to  prevent  any  immediate  return.  (Leviticus  xv. 
16  ;  Deuteronomy  xxiii.  10,  11.) 

The  intimate  connection  which  we  have  shown  to  exist 
between  the  health  of  the  parts  and  the  general  mental  and 
physical  soundness  is  recognized  in  the  Mosaic  law  in  a 
variety  of  references.  Any  one  wounded  or  maimed  there 
was  forbidden  to  enter  into  the  congregation  of  the  Lord, 
and  still  less  could  he  become  a  priest.  Even  during  a 
struggle  it  was  positively  forbidden  for  a  wife  to  interfere 
in  such  a  manner  that  she  might  cause  an  injury  to  func¬ 
tions  of  the  man ;  and  if  she  did  so,  the  penalty  was  to  be 
carried  out  without  mercy;  “thou  shalt  cut  off  her  hand, 
tliine  eye  shall  not  pity  her”  (Deuteronomy  xxiii.  1; 
xxv.  11.) 

The  diseases  peculiar  to  the  organs,  those  which  in  the 
former  pages  we  have  designated  as  “  secret  diseases,”  were 
clearly  by  no  means  uncommon,  and,  whatever  a  spurious 
modern  diffidence  may  say  about  it,  were  most  indubitably 


THE  DIAGNOSTIC  SKILL  OF  MOSES. 


307 


considered  by  the  publisher  of  that  great  law  and  admirable 
hygienic  code,  as  most  proper  subjects  for  public  instruc' 
tion.  For  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Mosaic  law 
was  no  series  of  esoteric  maxims  for  the  behoof  of  a  limited 
few,  but  was  regularly  read  aloud  to  all  the  assembled  peo¬ 
ple,  without  omission  and  without  reserve.  They  were  nur¬ 
tured  from  childhood  in  its  precepts,  and  no  one  arose  to 
proclaim  that  it  contained  perilous  and  iusidious  informa¬ 
tion. 

Considered  in  this  aspect,  the  very  full  and  detailed  de¬ 
scriptions  it  gives  of  sexual  diseases  have  additional  import¬ 
ance.  Some  inaccuracies,  or,  perhaps,  hesitations,  in  the 
rendering  considerably  obscure  to  the  ordinary  reader  the 
real  purport  of  the  advice.  For  instance,  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  but  that  in  the  earlier  verses  of  the  fif¬ 
teenth  chapter  of  Leviticus  the  disease  referred  to  is 
gonorrhoea.  The  words  in  the  second  verse,  “a  running 
issue  out  of  the  flesh,”  is  rendered  in  the  margin  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  version  “  a  running  of  the  reins.”  Saint  Jerome,  the 
translator  of  the  Latin  vulgate,  thought  that  the  disease 
intended  was  spermatorrhoea,  and  therefore  rendered  the 
original  by :  “  Vir ,  qui  patitur  fluxum  seminis.”  The 
third  verse,  which  contains  what  physicians  call  the  diag¬ 
nosis,  is  in  the  English  version  wholly  unintelligible ;  but  in 
the  vulgate  the  test  is  clearly  given  which  we  now  recog¬ 
nize  as  distinguishing  a  slight  and  innocent  discharge  from 
one  which  is  specific  and  contagious : — 

“Et  tunc  judicabitur  huic  vitio  subjacere,  cum  per  sin¬ 
gula  momenta  adhseserit  carni  ejus,  atque  concreverit,  foedus 
humor.” 

The  contagious  nature  of  the  disease  was  impressed  on 
the  people  by  the  most  stringent  regulations.  The  saddle 
that  the  victim  rode  on,  the  cup  that  he  drank  from,  the  bed 
he  slept  in,  and  the  bench  he  sat  upon  were  all  to  be  con- 


308  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


sidered  unclean  and  not  to  be  touched  by  a  healthy  person. 
In  part  explanation  of  the  minuteness  of  these  directions,  it 
is  to  be  remembered  that  the  clothing  in  ancient  times  did 
not  provide  the  concealment  and  protection  which  our 
modern  fashions  afford.  Even  after  a  complete  cure  had 
been  obtained,  the  man  must  hold  aloof  for  seven  days  and 
wash  himself  and  his  clothes  in  fresh  running  water. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus  has  been  subjected  to 
several  most  critical  examinations  of  late  years  by  physi¬ 
cians  who  were  also  skilled  Hebraists.  One  of  the  most 
recent  of  these  studies  is  before  us,  written  by  a  learned 
teacher  in  Vienna.  He  gives  an  exhaustive  commentary 
on  the  original  text,  and  adduces  strong  evidence  that  the 
word  in  the  second  verse  and  elsewhere,  rendered  in  the 
English  version  “flesh,”  has  reference  solely  to  the  virile 
member;  and  that  the  disease  designated  as  leprosy,  and 
which  as  described  does  not  exist  «at  present  either  in  Pales¬ 
tine  or  Europe,  was  syphilis.  He  supports  this  view  by 
pointing  out  with  a  large  array  of  evidence  that  the  descrip¬ 
tion  given  does  apply  to  this  loathsome  and  dangerous  com¬ 
plaint,  and  that  the  injunctions  of  complete  seclusion  and 
periodical  examinations  of  a  suspected  sore  are  precisely 
those  which,  were  it  in  our  power,  ought  to  be  carried  out 
to-day.  We  do  not  pretend  to  judg&on  so  difficult  a  ques¬ 
tion  in  linguistic  and  Biblical  lore  as  is  here  presented ;  but 
so  far  as  the  medical  aspect  of  the  discussion  is  concerned, 
we  have  been  strongly  impressed  by  the  arguments  used. 
And  certainly,  after  what  we  ha\  e  already  said  of  the  subtle 
and  disastrous  character  of  this  scourge,  we  may  well  believe 
that  special  precautions  would  have  been  given  by  the  Divine 
Voice  to  guard  the  chosen  people  from  its  contamination. 

Passing  to  another  part  of  the  law,  we  find  the  vice  of 
masturbation  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  then  commonly 


MARRIAGE  DUTIES  UNDER  THE  MOSAIC  LAW.  309 

practised  by  tbe  heathen  nations  as  a  religious  rite,  con 
demned  and  punished  with  death.  (Leviticus  xviii.  21 ;  xx.  2.) 

That  other  and  more  heinous  sin,  which  brought  down  the 
wrath  of  God  upon,  and  derived  its  name  from  the  city  of 
Sodom,  was  repeatedly  condemned  as  an  ‘‘abomination” 
(Leviticus  xviii.  22 ;  Deuteronomy  xxiii.  17)  ;  and  an 
equally  vile  crime  against  nature  is  solemnly  cursed  in  more 
than  one  passage.  (Exodus  xxii.  19 ;  Leviticus  xviii.  23 ; 
xx.  15.) 

The  relations  of  the  sexes  were  defined  with  an  accuracy 
which  left  no  pretext  for  unrighteousness.  In  spite  of  all 
that  modern  political  economists  have  written  about  the  use¬ 
lessness  of  sumptuary  laws,  we  perceive  a  deep  wisdom  in 
the  prohibition  of  either  sex  using  clothing  which  pertains 
to  the  other.  (Deuteronomy  xxii.  5.)  Prostitution  was  ab¬ 
solutely  prohibited ;  incest,  adultery,  rape,  and  fornication 
punished  with  severe  penalties. 

In  marriage  the  relations  of  the  sexes  were  defined  dis¬ 
tinctly.  A  newly  married  man  was  not  to  be  called  upon  to 
go  to  war,  nor  to  be  charged  with  any  onerous  business  for 
the  space  of  one  year.  (Deuteronomy  xxiv.  5.)  Husbands 
were  not  to  deny  their  wives  “  the  duty  of  marriage,”  but 
were  forbidden  to  demand  from  them  this  duty  during  the 
monthly  illness,  and  not  until  after  the  cleansing  from  it, 
which  took  place  on  the  eighth  day  after  its  cessation.  (Le¬ 
viticus  xviii.  19,  and  xv.  28.) 

As  the  reproduction  of  the  species  was  considered  one  of 
the  chief  ends  of  marriage,  any  action  by  which  ihis  was 
permanently  avoided,  as  in  the  case  of  Onan,  who  refused  to 
be  instrumental  in  raising  up  an  heir  to  his  deceased  brother’s 
estate,  was  regarded  as  criminal,  and  punished  accordingly 

We  have  by  no  means  exhausted  this  interesting  Biblical 
study.  We  might  exemplify  by  many  copious  quotations 
Irom  different  parts  of  both  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the 


310  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


importance  which  the  Word  of  God  attributes  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  our  duties  as  parents  of  future  generations. 
And  why,  let  us  ask,  was  it  deemed  of  such  importance  ? 
The  reason  given  is  both  a  fact  in  history  and  a  warning  for 
all  time. 

“Ye  shall  not  commit  any  of  these  abominations. 

“  That  the  land  spue  not  you  out,  when  ye  defile  it,  as  it 
spued  out  the  nations  which  were  before  you. 

“For  whosoever  shall  commit  any  of  these  abominations, 
even  the  souls  that  commit  them  shall  be  cast  off  from  among 
their  people.” 

Terrible  words,  true  at  all  times,  and  of  all  people !  The 
curse  of  uncleanness,  of  sexual  vice,  is  sure  finally  to  destroy 
the  individual,  the  family,  society,  the  nation,  and  extend 
its  blighting  power  to  unborn  generations. 

The  Meaning  of  these  Warnings. 

Would  these  instructions  have  been  given  with  this  so¬ 
lemnity  and  with  this  care  were  they  of  small  moment?  We 
cannot  for  an  instant  entertain  the  idea.  Can  we  suppose 
that  their  intention  was  merely  sanitary  in  character,  that 
they  had  no  reference  to  the  moral  relations  of  the  indivi¬ 
dual  ?  Such  a  view  wrere  inconsistent  with  the  known 
objects  of  revelation.  Finally,  if  instruction  on  these  rela¬ 
tions  was  deemed  so  important  in  the  infancy  of  the  world, 
long  before  civilization  with  its  new  crimes  and  its  new 
vices  had  multiplied  temptations  and  penalties,  can  it  be 
possible  that  they  are  now  no  longer  needed  ?  Or  if  needed, 
that  it  is  no  longer  right  to  give  them. 

If,  as  we  believe,  there  is  a  profound  moral  significance  in 
these  apparently  hygienic  admonitions,  has  that  significance 
departed  from  them  now  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  too  palpably  given  by  the 
enormous  amount  of  vice  and  misery  which  results  from 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  311 


sexual  vice  in  this  day  and  generation,  for  there  to  be  any 
need  of  a  reply  from  us.  A  keen  student  of  human  nature 
has  bitterly  said:  “When  modesty  departs  from  the  heart 
she  takes  up  her  residence  in  the  lips and  we  fear  that  the 
prudishness  which  would  leave  unsaid  the  warnings  to  youth 
and  men  concerning  the  dangers  to  which  their  sex  exposes 
them  is,  in  reality,  far  more  to  be  suspected  than  the  candor 
which  sounds  aloud  those  warnings,  even  at  the  risk  of  shock¬ 
ing  some  sensitive  minds. 

We  know  from  multitudinous  examples  that  there  is  no 
one  vicious  tendency  which  more  surely  saps  the  strength  of 
the  state,  destroys  the  happiness  of  the  domestic  circle,  con¬ 
taminates  social  life,  and  leads  the  individual  to  destructive 
habits,  than  that  which  regards  the  sexual  relations.  Where 
the  mothers  are  virtuous,  the  sires  will  be  brave,  and  the 
sons  will  be  dutiful  Where  libertinism  is  winked  at,  where 
soiled  reputations  are  excused,  where  statutes  protect  traffic 
in  human  sin,  we  may  surely  look  for  lack  of  courage,  lack 
of  patriotism,  lack  of  prosperity ;  and  though  such  a  plague 
spot  may  appear  fair  and  flourishing  enough  for  a  time, 
sooner  or  later  a  swift  destruction  will  overcome  it.  And 
even  since  the  time  at  which  we  penned  the  line  where  we 
characterized  a  certain  city  as  the  “  lupanar  of  Europe,” 
the  curse  has  gone  forth  upon  that  city,  and  she  is  now  in 
blood  and  ashes  doing  penance  for  her  sins. 

In  the  New  Testament. 

Too  frequently  there  are  those  who  in  their  natural  incli¬ 
nations  allow  themselves  whatever  liberties  are  not  specifi¬ 
cally  prohibited  by  the  moral  code,  just  as  there  are  in 
business  matters  too  many  who  do  not  hesitate  at  any  trans¬ 
action  which  is  “  o’  the  windy  side  of  the  law,”  and  construe, 
like  the  lawyer  Mr.  Yholes  in  Dickens’  novel,  everything  to 
be  moral  which  is  legal.  One  such  it  was  our  chance  to 


312  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 

meet,  one  who  professed  to  live  according  to  the  highest 
religious  life,  and  yet  who  defended,,  the  propriety  of  an  oc¬ 
casional  indulgence  in  solitary  licentiousness  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  nowhere  prohibited  in  the  New  Testament. 

This  defence,  urged  as  it  was  by  one  decidedly  above  the 
average  in  talents  and  acquirements,  impressed  us  strongly 
with  the  need  of  a  more  definite  expression  of  opinion  on  the 
part  of  teachers,  both  medical  and  religious,  in  reference  to 
the  duties  of  man  in  relation  to  his  sexual  nature. 

All  readers  are  familiar  with  the  cardinal  difference  that 
exists  between  the  manner  of  teaching  of  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament,  that  the  former  lays  down  a  defined  ethical 
code  chiefly  in  the  method  of  prohibition,  while  the  latter 
inculcates  principles  and  motives  of  a  positive  character, 
which,  followed  out,  necessarily  carry  with  them  all  and 
more  than  all  the  force  of  the  older  law. 

While,  therefore,  in  the  older  books  we  found  a  minute¬ 
ness  of  detail  not  surpassed  even  in  special  sanitary  works, 
we  must  not  expect  a  reiteration  of  these  in  the  Evangelists 
and  Apostles.  But  what  we  may  expect,  and  what  we  do 
find  in  abundance,  are  numberless  exhortations  to  purity, 
chastity,  and  cleanliness,  warnings  against  lewdness,  unclean- 
ness,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  the  abominations  which  were 
in  vogue  in  the  corrupt  cities  of  the  Roman  Empire,  at  that 
time  rapidly  declining  toward  the  pit  of  effeminacy  and  ruin 
into  which  it  finally  fell.  The  prevailing  licentiousness  of 
the  times  is  over  and  over  again  referred  to,  and  the 
strictest  injunctions  given  to  the  early  Christians  to  keep 
themselves  aloof  from  the  pitch  which  ddfiled  the  social  life 
of  the  heathen. 

Paul  was  too  well  aware  of  the  destructive  consequences 
of  sexual  vice  either  to  omit  the  mention  of  it,  or  to  pass  it 
by  with  a  timid  delicacy.  lie  refers  to  it  with  distinct 
emphasis,  and  sounds  his  warnings  in  no  ambiguous  words. 


"HE  NEW  TESTAMENT  ON  THE  MARRIAGE  TIE.  313 

The  precise  view  taken  of  the  marital  relation  by  onr 
Saviour  and  his  disciples,  has  always  beer^and  continues  to 
be  an  unsettled  point  between  rival  schools  of  theologians. 
Even  in  the  second  century  there  arose  a  Syrian  sect  under 
the  leadership  of  Saturninus,  who  declared,  somewhat  as  do 
the  Shakers  of  to-day,  that  sexual  intercourse  at  all  times 
and  under  all  circumstances  is  a  sin  of  the  darkest  dye,  and 
"that  marriage  is  an  invention  of  the  devil.  As  Mosheim 
well  remarks  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History,  it  is  gratifying  to 
consider  that  any  such  extreme  view  brings  with  it  its  own 
correction,  for  as  it  prevents  the  birth  of  children,  it  must 
look  for  recruits  solely  to  the  adult  population,  and  must 
consequently  be  of  limited  duration. 

Certain  it  is,  however,  that  the  expressions  used  by  the 
Great  Teacher  led  to  a  much  higher  estimate  of  the  sacred¬ 
ness  of  the  marriage  tie,  and  produced  a  loftier  respect  for 
woman  than  had  been  usual  either  in  the  Israelitish  or  the 
European  nations. 

The  law  of  divorce  which  was  then  promulgated,  was 
based  upon  a  view  of  marriage  very  different  from  that  pre. 
viously  existent.  Under  the  Mosaic  law,  as  well  as  under 
the  Greek  and  Roman  codes,  the  husband  and  wife  were 
united  by  a  tie  previously  civil  in  its  character.  The  deeper 
unity  which  binds  them,  which  makes  them  one,  which  sinks 
the  duality  of  person  in  the  oneness  of  life  and  aims,  and 
which  is  now  recognized  as  a  physiological  truth,  was  not  so 
much  as  suspected  by  the  most  contemplative  philosopher  of 
classical  days. 

Then  again,  the  duty  of  fidelity  to  one  wife,  and  to  the 
marriage  vow,  was  never  before  impressed  upon  either  Jew  or 
Gentile.  Polygamy  was  practised  and  authorized  among 
the  Jews,  while  the  Greeks,  though  approving  of  only  one 
wife,  did  not  consider  it  obligatory  upon  the  husband  to  be 
faithful  to  her.  On  the  contrary,  we  read  frequently  in  the 


314  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


Greek  classics  of  married  men  visiting  the  houses  of  the 
hetaerce,  and  passing  their  time  in  this  company,  without 
any  general  denunciation  of  the  act,  and  almost  without 
comment. 

Only  when  we  compare  the  social  life  of  that  day  with 
that  which  Christianity  introduced,  can  we  appreciate  the 
immense  superiority  of  its  morality,  and  the  enormous  vices 
it  had  to  combat  and  to  conquer.  All  social  life  is  based 
upon  family  life ;  and  this,  in  its  inception,  history,  and 
character,  depends  directly  upon  the  moral  relations  of  the 
sexes.  Social  reforms  must  commence  here,  and  here  is 
where  Christianity  did  commence. 

Sexual  Relations  in  Christianity. 

Thus  Christianity,  which  came  not  to  do  away  with  the 
Mosaic  law,  still  less  to  do  away  with  the  evils  that  law  was 
given  to  correct,  reiterates  and  defines  the  warnings  and  the 
instructions  of  the  Old  Testament  on  the  relations  of  the 
sexes.  It  elevated  the  bond  of  marriage,  increased  the 
stringency  of  the  lien,  lessened  the  causes  of  divorce,  and 
ordained  the  principle  of  monogamy,  which  previously  had 
been  an  approved  custom  but  not  an  obligatory  enactment. 

The  precepts  inculcated  by  the  Apostles  on  these  points, 
and  on  the  sins  of  uncleanness,  were  required  at  a  time  when 
the  weight  of  the  examples  of  men  high  in  station  and 
eminent  in  intellect  was  thrown  in  favor  of  vicious  indul¬ 
gence. 

The  rigidity  of  the  early  Christians  on  these  points,  main¬ 
tained  as  it  was  amid  the  temptations  of  a  lascivious  pagan 
state  enormously  wealthy  and  incredibly  dissolute,  naturally 
passed  into  austerity,  and  from  austerity  to  asceticism. 

They  reversed  the  example  of  the  Oriental  nations,  and 
instead  of  regarding  the  instincts  of  procreation  as  natural 
and  proper  when  controlled  and  enlightened,  they  looked 


FALSE  AND  EXAGGERATED  NOTIONS. 


315 


tlpon  it  as  the  sure  proof  and  sign  of  man’s  moral  degrada¬ 
tion,  the  one  greatest  foe  to  his  spiritual  advancement,  the 
peculiar  stronghold  of  Apollvon  and  his  imps,  and  that 
which  beyond  all  else  it  behooved  the  seeker  after  righteous¬ 
ness  to  utterly  crush  and  stamp  out  of  his  nature. 

These  false  and  exaggerated  notions,  the  product  of  an 
ignorance  of  the  physical  nature  of  man,  gave  rise  to  sad 
results.  A  morbid  fear  of  sexual  excitement,  a  constant 
turning  of  the  thoughts  to  dangers  from  this  source,  are 
precisely  calculated  in  some  temperaments  to  weaken  and 
not  to  strengthen  the  resolution.  There  is  a  fatal  attraction 
to  some  constitutions  in  the  forbidden.  Nititur  in  vetitum , 
nature  seeks  what  is  not  allowed,  and  the  result  of  over¬ 
strained  terrors  manifests  itself  occasionally  in  fearful  scenes 
of  violence. 

Mr.  Lecky,  in  his  “  History  of  European  Morals,”  gives 
some  striking  illustrations  of  the  dangers  of  this  code  of 
morals.  He  remarks : — 

“  Most  terrible  at  times  were  the  struggles  of  young  and 
ardent  men  through  whose  veins  the  hot  blood  of  passion 
flowed,  who  were  borne  on  the  wave  of  enthusiasm  to  the  life 
of  the  anchorite  in  the  desert.  In  the  arms  of  Syrian  or 
African  brides,  whose  soft  eyes  answered  love  with  love,  they 
might  have  sunk  to  rest ;  but  in  the  lonely  desert  no  peace 
could  ever  visit  their  souls.  Multiplying  with  frantic  energy 
the  macerations  of  the  body,  beating  their  breasts  with 
anguish,  the  tears  forever  streaming  from  their  eyes,  ima¬ 
gining  themselves  continually  haunted  by  forms  of  deadly 
beauty,  their  struggles  not  unfrequently  ended  in  insanity 
and  suicide.  When  St.  Pachomius  and  St.  Palaemon  were 
once  conversing  together  in  the  desert,  a  young  monk  rushed 
into  their  presence  in  a  distracted  manner,  and,  convulsed 
with  sobs,  poured  out  his  tale.  A  woman  had  entered  his 

22 


316  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


cell,  and  had  seduced  him,  and  then  vanished,  leaving  him 
half  dead  upon  the  ground ;  then,  with  a  wild  shriek,  the 
monk  broke  away,  rushed  across  the  desert  till  he  arrived 
at  the  next  village,  and  then  leaping  into  the  open  furnace 
of  the  public  baths,  he  perished  in  the  flames.” 

This  narrative  is  but  one  of  numbers  which  could  be 
brought  forward  illustrating  the  dangers  of  ignorance  and 
prejudice  on  the  important  topics  we  have  discussed  in  the 
present  volume,  and  the  close  relations  they  bear  to  the 
moral  part  of  man’s  nature.  Here  was  a  misguided  young 
man  crazed  and  driven  to  self-murder  by  the  phantom  which 
his  own  imagination,  diseased  by  long  dwelling  upon  one 
function  of  his  system,  had  conjured  up. 

During  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  same  unfortunate  interpretation  of  the  Christian  doc¬ 
trines  produced  similar  violations  of  natural  laws  throughout 
the  Middle  Ages.  The  violence  done  to  the  natural  im¬ 
pulses  by  an  enforced  and  unwilling  celibacy  showed  itself 
in  prevailing  dissoluteness  of  life,  pud  too  often  those  who 
should  have  been  the  models  and  exemplars  of  holy  life, 
were  the  leaders  in  profligate  ways. 

The  struggle  by  which  others  attempted  to  maintain  a 
formal  continence,  while  their  imaginations  were  uncontrolled, 
remained,  and  ever  will  remain,  bitter  and  hopeless.  The 
unavoidable  continence  of  the  monasteries  was  not  slow  to 
foster  vices  of  a  more  deleterious  character  than  licentious¬ 
ness  itself,  and  consequently  to  injure  rather  than  to  benefit 
the  general  weal.  Of  course,  we  do  not  mean  that  this  waa 
commonly  or  even  frequently  the  case,  but  there  is  too  much 
evidence  from  original  records  to  deny  that  much  moral  tur¬ 
pitude  arose  from  this  misunderstood  position  of  the  procrea^ 
tive  instinct  in  the  economy. 


RELATION  OF  THE  SEXES  IN  MODERN  TIMES.  31? 

Matrimonial  life  itself  felt  the  effects  of  this  erroneous 
view.  It  was  looked  upon  as  an  allowable,  but  not  the  most 
holy  condition  of  life.  That  there  was  real  chastity  in  mar¬ 
riage,  though  perhaps  conceded  in  words,  was  not  in  act  and 
belief,  for  the  condition  of  virginity  was  constantly  upheld 
as  the  only  really  pure  state  of  living.  “  To  cut  down  by 
the  axe  of  virginity  the  wood  of  marriage  is  the  true  object 
of  the  saint,”  is  the  energetic  metaphor  of  Saint  Jerome. 
The  consequence  of  this  belief  that  the  marriage  state  was 
inconsistent  with  pure  holiness  was  that  when  a  strong  reli¬ 
gious  fervor  fell  upon  a  husband  or  wife,  its  first  effect  was 
to  make  any  continuation  of  happy  married  life  out  of  the 
question.  The  more  religious  partner  at  once  desired  and 
attempted  to  lead  a  solitary  life,  or  to  join  some  monastery 
or  sisterhood. 

In  other  words,  it  came  to  be  generally  understood  that 
married  people,  by  the  very  act  of  marriage,  put  themselves 
upon  a  lower  plane  of  morality. 

The  inevitable  consequence  was  a  loss  of  self-respect,  a 
diminished  esteem  for  marital  purity,  and  a  visible  tendency 
to  infidelity  in  the  marriage  relation.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  an  impartial  student  of  national  traits  can  still 
distinguish  the  fruits  of  these  views  in  the  southern  nations 
of  the  European  continent. 

In  Modern  Times. 

In  more  modern  times  the  inconsistencies  and  the  incor¬ 
rectness  of  these  views  of  the  relations  of  the  sexes  became 
apparent,  and  able  men  rose  who  maintained  that  neither 
continence  nor  virginity  was  more  pleasing  in  the  sight  oi 
God  than  married  chastity  and  fidelity,  and  that  any  doc¬ 
trine  to  the  contrary,  so  far  from  elevating  a  national  stand¬ 
ard  of  morality,  did  exactly  the  reverse.  These  teachers 
further  maintained  that  the  sexual  impulse  is  not  in  itself 


318  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


evil,  nor  is  it  any  more  liable  to  result  in  evil  than  any  oth^ 
passion  or  appetite  appertaining  to  man  ;  and  that,  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  its  temperate  indulgence  under  proper  and  legal 
restrictions,  it  is  entirely  in  accordance  both  with  the  laws  of 
natural  science  and  the  maxims  of  pure  Christianity. 

This  was,  indeed,  a  step  in  advance,  and  it  has  redounded 
to  the  well-being  of  those  who  have  appreciated  and  recog¬ 
nized  it.  But  in  its  full  bearings  in  social  and  individual 
life,  it  is  still  too  superficially  understood  by  the  masses. 

This  is,  in  a  measure,  owing  to  a  general  hesitation  in 
stating  distinctly  to  the  public  the  nature  and  laws  which 
govern  the  more  recondite  functions  of  the  human  frame. 
As  far  as  this  has  been  done,  it  has  been  by  those  very  in¬ 
sufficiently  qualified  to  act  as  the  interpreters  of  scientific 
results,  and  much  more  for  selfish  and  immediate  ends  than 
from  any  abstract  desire  to  promote  the  comfort  and  the 
happiness  of  their  fellows. 

Yet  the  various  facts  which  we  have  adduced,  not  from 
remote  or  limited  fields,  but  from  the  general  history  of  the 
race,  prove  conclusively  how  intimately  associated  with 
man’s  moral  nature,  and  consequently  with  his  life  hereafter, 
are  these  questions  concerning  his  peculiar  powers. 

In  a  double  sense  is  there  a  perpetuity  connected  with 
the  exercise  of  this  function.  In  our  article  on  Inheritance 
we  have  told  how  distant  generations  will  certainly  be 
moulded  in  their  moral,  mental,  and  physical  natures  by  the 
actions  of  their  ancestors  now  living.  Now,  we  call  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  individual  destiny  of  each  as  dependent,  to  no 
small  extent,  upon  the  same  actions.  Impressed,  as  we  hope 
our  readers  will  be  by  this  double  responsibility,  they  should 
seek  to  learn  how  to  perform  these  important  duties  intelli¬ 
gently. 

The  practical  deductions  which  we  could  make  from  such 
facts  are  that  we  should  not  supinely  fold  our  hands  and  sit 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  THEOLOGIANS 


319 


contented  with  indolence  and  ignorance  in  the  face  of  these 
demands  upon  our  attention. 

No  one  denies  that  almost  the  greatest  scourges  of  modern 
societies  are  still  the  products  of  a  want  of  regulation  in  the 
sexual  relations.  Hitherto,  renouncing  as  unsuited  to  the 
refinement  and  purity  (!)  of  our  social  life  the  plain  and 
direct  admonitions  which  God  saw  fit  to  impart  to  His 
chosen  people  that  they  might  be  kept  unspotted  from  the 
evils  which  surrounded  them,  we  have  tried  the  plan  of  say¬ 
ing  nothing  and  doing  nothing.  We  have  hoped  that  by  a 
well-bred  silence  on  the  subject  of  carnal  abominations,  they 
would  presently  disappear  and  be  forgotton. 

The  result  has  unfortunately  not  yet  justified  this  agree¬ 
able  expectation.  If  anything,  it  seems  that  these  vices  are 
increasing  at  quite  as  fast  a  rate  as  population,  wealth,  and 
luxury  increase.  The  simplicity  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
the  severity  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  or  the  heroism  of  the 
Huguenot  refugees  which  marked  the  early  history  of  our 
country,  were  hard  to  discover  now  in  any  corner  of  our 
wide  domain. 


At  the  Present  Day. 

These  topics,  we  well  know,  lie  without  the  field  of  medi¬ 
cal  inquiry,  and  we  feel  that  we  may  be  criticized  for  having 
spoken  on  matters  which  other  and  abler  pens  could  treat 
with  greater  power.  Nor  would  we  thus  have  ventured 
beyond  the  legitimate  limits  of  our  sphere,  had  we  not  been 
persuaded  that  for  reasons  heretofore  urged,  there  has  been 
and  is  an  injurious  reticence  about  the  subject. 

We  have  had  placed  at  our  disposal  a  library  of  recent 
theological  works  tolerably  comprehensive,  and  we  have 
spent  a  number  of  hours  in  examining  the  works  of  recent 
divines  and  religious  instructors.  But  in  not  one  of  them 
have  we  found  as  definite  and  positive  warnings  on  the 


320  THE  MORAL  RELATIONS  OF  SEXUAL  LIFE. 


dangers  of  a  misunderstood  relation  of  the  sexes  as  we  have 
already  referred  to  in  the  Bible  itself.  We  may,  and  hope 
we  have  overlooked  some  works  which  do  contain  them. 
But  that  there  is  no  longer  any  need  of  such  warnings,  or 
that  it  would  be  of  doubtful  utility  to  give  them,  or  that  it 
would  be  unadvisable  on  the  score  of  propriety,  are  excuses 
Jor  their  absence  which  we  cannot  admit. 

There  is  far  greater  latitude  customary  in  social  relations 
in  this  country  than  in  the  old  world ;  there  is  a  precocity 
of  intellect  and  a  susceptibility  of  the  nervous  system  which 
is  scarcely  met  elsewhere.  Unless  these  traits  are  guided 
by  morality  and  intelligence,  they  will  soon  bring  forth  a 
corruption  unsurpased  in  our  times.  Concealment  and 
attempts  to  enforce  ignorance  will  not  succeed.  These  in¬ 
struments  of  crafty  despots  and  a  bigoted  priesthood  are 
inconsistent  with  our  institutions. 

% 

What  then,  to  sum  up,  are  the  questions  concerning  the 
moral  relations  of  the  sexual  life,  which  remain  open  to  day, 
and  which  it  is  our  duty,  without  hesitation,  to  confront  ? 

They  are  the  duty  which  each  man  owes  himself  not  to 
sin  against  the  ordinances  of  his  own  life  by  violating  his 
functions  ;  the  duty  which  he  owes  the  other  sex  to  rescue 
them  from  the  gulf  of  prostitution,  and  to  withhold  the 
temptations  which  attract  them  there ;  the  duty  he  owes  his 
children  in  keeping  himself  free  from  the  taint  which  will 
render  them  miserable  invalids.  Marriage  is  to  be  rescued 
from  the  views  which  are  degrading  it  once  more  to  a  mere 
civil  contract,  a  legalized  concubinage.  The  lax  sentiments 
about  divorce  are  not  to  pass  unchallenged.  The  relations 
of  husband  and  wife  are  to  be  redeemed  from  the  estimate 
which  places  them  upon  a  plane  with  a  business  partnership 
or  with  those  of  employer  and  employed. 

There  is  also  the  prohibitory  part  of  the  moral  statute  to 
be  enforced.  If  there  is  one  sign  more  portentous  than 


TvtE  THOUGHTS  OF  AN  ENGLISH  TRAVELLER.  321 


another  concerning  the  tendency  of  American  civilization, 
it  is  the  remarkable  activity  of  the  press,  and  even  of  the 
pulpit  (in  some  of  its  forms),  in  disseminating  a  false  view 
of  sexual  morality. 

On  the  one  hand,  we  see  on  etety  news-stand  illustrated 
books  and  papers  familiarizing  the  public  mind  to  indecency 
— the  periodicals  of  widest  circulation  are  filled  with  tales  of 
morbid  sentimentality ;  and  not  a  few  through  their  adver¬ 
tisements  offer  concealment  and  aid  to  debauchery. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  populous  State  is  sunk  in  polygamy; 
another  dissolves  the  marriage  tie  as  readily  as  a  copartner¬ 
ship ;  and  at  many  points  over  the  land  communities  are 
found  who  dispense  with  marriage  altogether,  and  live  in  a 
condition  of  miscellaneous  fornication. 

A  talented  English  traveller  who  visited  this  country  a 
few  years  ago,  and  tvho  chose  to  study  the  tendencies  rather 
than  the  statistics  of  our  people,  considered  these  aberra¬ 
tions  of  the  healthy  sexual  instinct  as  at  once  the  most  re¬ 
markable  and  the  most  ominous  features  of  our  civilization. 
As  a  nation,  we  werd  not  well  pleased  with  Mr.  Dixon  when 
we  read  what  he  had  to  say  about  us,  and  sought  rather  to 
discover  the  motes  which  exist  in  the  eyes  of  his  own  coun¬ 
trymen  than  to  remove  the  beams  he  had  so  clearly  pointed 
out  in  ourselves. 

But  the  facts  he  recorded  are  undeniable,  and  nothing  but 
their*  familiarity  preven-ts  them  from  impressing  us  as  un¬ 
pleasantly  as  they  did  him.  The  remedy  for  them  is  not 
remote  nor  difficult.  It  is  to  insist  upon  better  understand¬ 
ing  of  the  ethical  bearings  of  the  reproductive  function, 
upon  the  purity  and  permanency  of  marriage,  and  upon 
those  sounder  views  of  duty  which  we  have  already  ex¬ 
plained. 


CONCLUSION. 


As  we  reach  the  conclusion  of  our  subject  we  cannot  but 
feel  the  inadequacy  with  which  we  have  treated  the  theme 
which  has  occupied  us.  The  portion  of  man’s  nature  whose 
laws  and  liabilities  we  have  with  great  brevity  rehearsed,  is 
at  once  the  most  mysterious  and  the  most  momentous  of  all. 
This  alone  it  is  which  allies  him  with  an  earthly  future  be¬ 
yond  the  limit  of  his  own  existence ;  this  it  is  which  in  its 
use  or  abuse  controls  not  solely  his  own  life  and  welfare,  but 
in  ways  and  to  an  extent  wholly  beyond  our  power  to  esti¬ 
mate,  the  welfare  of  generations  to  come. 

Whether  we  regard  the  subject  from  a  purely  ethical  or  a 
purely  physiological  point  of  view,  its  importance  cannot 
but  impress  us  profoundly.  What  impulse  of  man’s  physi¬ 
cal  nature  most  potently  governs  his  actions,  his  aspirations, 
and  the  moral  complexion  of  his  life  ?  Precisely  this  on 
which  we  have  been  engaged.  On  what  do  some  of  the 
most  difficult  questions  of  modern  social  morality  turn? 
Once  more,  on  the  control  of  this  impulse.  How  can  we  aa 

(323  ) 


324 


TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE. 


individuals  most  certainly  secure  the  moral  progress  of 
posterity?  By  endowing  them  with  a  physical  constitution 
free  from  the  taint  of  hereditary  disease,  and  a  mental  com 
stitution  devoid  of  inherited  tendencies  to  crime.  To  acccm. 
piish  this,  science  warns  us  again  and  again  that  no  subtla 
compound  of  chemicals  will  suffice,  and  no  future  reformation 
and  late  adopted  purity  of  life,  but  only  early,  unalterable, 
permanent  fidelity  to  principle. 

The  hesitancy  which  has  so  long,  and  so  naturally  kept 
silent  the  voice  of  the  medical  profession  upon  these  points, 
should  now  be  laid  aside,  for  the  immense  collection  of  sta- 
tistics  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their  accuracy,  and  their  bearing 
on  the  future  of  the  race.  Many  of  the  best  minds  in  the 
world  of  practical  and  statistical  medicine  have  been  ear¬ 
nestly  turned  in  this  direction,  and,  as  a  consequence,  during 
the  last  decade  great  advances  in  knowledge  have  been  se¬ 
cured.  and  numerous  suggestions  have  been  presented  look¬ 
ing  to  the  preservation  of  the  general  health.  It  is  not 
possible  for  the  profession  alone  unsupported  by  the  public, 
to  carry  out  those  measures  of  repression  and  protection, 
which  we  have  referred  to  as  necessary  to  effect  any  reform. 
And  the  public,  in  order  to  be  induced  to  take  any  action, 
must  be  made  acquainted  in  no  uncertain  manner  with  the 
necessities  of  the  measures  asked  of  it. 

Finally,  the  private  individual  who  is  suffering  or  who 
only  thinks  he  is  suffering,  (which  is  often  quite  as  sad  a 
condition,)  from  his  own  misdeeds,  and  is  deprived  by  the 
nature  of  these  misdeeds  from  the  sympathy  and  attention 
he  would  otherwise  have,  should  be  put  in  possession  of  a 
sufficiency  of  facts,  to  enable  him  to  judge  whether  his  fears 
are  groundless,  or  whether  it  be  not  wiser  to  lay  aside  all 
reticence,  and  seek  by  prompt  means  a  recovery. 


TRANSMISSION  OF  LIFE.  32b 

Such  have  been  our  aims  in  composing  the  foregoing 
chapters.  Whether  or  not  we  have  succeeded  in  expressing 
ourselves  regarding  them  lucidly,  instructively,  and  satisfac¬ 
torily,  the  reader  who  has  accompanied  us  thus  far,  is  better 
able  to  judge  thau  auvseives- 


APPENDIX. 


i. 

The  Progress  of  Popular  Culture  in  Physiology. 

It  is  gratifying  to  observe  that  with  the  increase  in  intel¬ 
lectual  enlightenment,  always  comes  a  confidence  in  the 
belief  that  this  enlightenment  not  only  is*  consistent  with, 
but  is  an  aid  to,  sound  morals. 

In  nations  and  ages  which  may  be  called  mediaeval,  igno¬ 
rance  was  anxiously  defended  by  good  men,  under  the  mis¬ 
taken  notion  that  it  is  the  best  safeguard  of  purity.  But 
the  dissemination  of  knowledge  has,  in  point  of  fact,  proved 
a  better  protection.  In  many  countries  of  Europe  to  this 
day  it  is  the  custom  to  allow  unmarried  girls  hardly  any 
liberty,  and  a  very  circumscribed  reading.  The  Ameri¬ 
can  girl,  with  almost  untrammeled  independence  in  both 
directions,  is  unquestionably  superior  in  moral  self-reliance. 
The  publication  of  a  volume  full  of  the  titles  of  works  which 
are  forbidden  to  be  read — the  Index  Expurgatorius — has 
not  improved,  but  has  deteriorated  the  Homan  Catholic 
Church. 


327 


328 


APPENDIX. 


So,  on  physiological  subjects,  the  objections  which  were 
vehemently  urged,  at  first,  against  all  popular  instruction, 
have  been,  one  by  one,  giving  way,  until  now  it  is  only 
in  regard  to  sexual  physiology  that  prejudice  is  in  the  as¬ 
cendant. 

Even  here,  it  is  evident  that  the  barriers  of  the  mediaeval 
doctrines  are  disappearing.  The  very  important  researches 
of  naturalists  into  the  laws  of  descent,  the  effects  of  intermar¬ 
riage,  the  transmission  of  mental  and  moral  qualities,  and 
the  like,  show  that  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  recognized 
that  these  are  questions  about  which  the  general  public 
should  be  informed  without  loss  of  time. 

Since  the  first  publication  of  this  work,  we  note  a  decided 
advance  in  this  direction.  Several  works  of  a  popular  charac¬ 
ter  have  been  published,  whose  authors  explain,  in  proper 
language,  those  physiological  facts  which  it  is  well  for  all 
to  be  acquainted  with.  Thoughtful  physicians  have  come 
more  and  more  to  recognize  the  large  number  of  maladies 
which  take  their  rise  in  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health  in 
the  relations  referred  to.  Thus  one  of  them  writes,  in  a 
recent  treatise : — 

u  So  grave  are  the  errors  of  ignorance  in  the  married  re¬ 
lation,  that,  in  my  opinion,  to  encourage,  or  even  to  allow 
young  people  to  marry  without  having  received  such  in¬ 
structions,  is  as  foolish  and  wicked  as  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  a  child  a  loaded  pistol  or  a  paper  of  poison,  for  no  othei 
reason  than  that  it  wanted  them  and  had  reached  a  certain 
age,  and  yet  to  offer  no  word  of  advice  or  of  warning  respect¬ 
ing  the  dangers  of  their  employment. 

“  But,  alas,  how  few  parents,  how  few  instructors,  have 


329 


APPENDIX. 

the  knowledge,  the  discretion,  the  tact,  the  judgment,  to 
qualify  them  for  such  an  office  ? 

“  Until  parents  feel  it  an  essential  part  of  their  duty  to 
acquire  this  information  themselves,  from  reliable  sources, 
and  to  impart  it  fully  and  freely  to  their  children,  as  soon 
as  it  can  be  comprehended  by  them,  no  teacher  of  physi¬ 
ology  can  hold  himself  wholly  guiltless  of  the  sins  or  misfor¬ 
tunes  of  those  under  his  charge,  if,  from  mistaken  delicacy 
or  other  motive,  he  refrains  from  including  in  his  instruc¬ 
tions  an  account  of  the  processes  of  generation,  and  the 
perils  which  attend  the  violation  of  their  laws.” 

These  words  of  Professor  Burt  Gr.  Wilder,  M.D.,  of  Cor¬ 
nell  University,  indicate  an  enormous  advance  since  the 
time,  not  a  score  of  years  ago,  when  any  public  instruction 
in  physiology  was  condemned  by  more  than  one  teacher  of 
the  branch  in  medical  schools. 

Several  other  efforts  have  been  made,  and  successfully, 
to  disperse  the  mystery  which  has  only  served  as  a  stimulus 
to  morbid  imaginations,  and  which  has  kept  its  hold  undei 
the  mistaken  notion  that  it  is  the  protection  of  purity  of 
mind. 


APPENDIX. 


331 


II. 

The  Effects  of  Sexual  Troubles  on  the  Mind. 

The  more  intimately  the  publication  of  this  work  has  led 
us  to  study  and  observe  the  effects  of  sexual  troubles  on 
man — whether  those  troubles  were  the  results  of  vice,  mis¬ 
fortune  or  ignorance,  whether  they  were  wholly  real  or 
partly  imaginary — the  more  have  we  noted  the  inadequately 
great  effect  they  exercise  on  his  mind.  The  patient  attri¬ 
butes  to  them  influences  which  they  certainly  never  have 
nor  could  have ;  and  often  lays  at  their  door  the  failure  of 
faculties  and  plans  of  life  which  an  unprejudiced  observer 
would  attribute  to  quite  other  causes. 

For  example,  nothing  is  more  common  than  for  one  who 
has  for  a  brief  period  during  youth  been  addicted  to  soli¬ 
tary  bad  habits,  to  assign  this  as  the  probable  reason  of 
a  number  of  functional  ills  which  the  physician,  studying 
his  case,  cannot  see  in  that  relation  at  all.  So,  again,  in 
various  cases,  after  appropriate  treatment  has  removed  all 
the  prominent  symptoms  which  such  a  habit  has  left  behind 
it,  the  patient  is  still  haunted  by  a  fear  that  he  is  not  what 
he  should  and  would  have  been,  that  he  is  deeply  and  irre¬ 
mediably  damaged  by  his  former  weakness,  and  that  he 
never  will  be  his  former  self  again.  Hence,  instead  of  be- 
23 


332 


APPENDIX. 


coming  cheerful  with  the  obvious  improvement  of  his  case, 
he  is  apt  to  remain  almost  as  dispirited  as  ever,  and  because 
he  finds  that  the  honest  and  intelligent  physician  does  not 
desire  to  keep  him  under  his  care  longer,  he  seeks  the  ad¬ 
vice  of  the  charlatan.  The  latter,  if  he  does  not,  by  inept 
and  violent  measures,  actually  bring  about  a  condition  of 
positive  disease,  at  least  fools  him  to  the  top  of  his  bent, 
and  bleeds  him  to  his  last  dollar,  or  as  near  it  as  possible. 
Often  and  often  has  this  history  occurred  in  our  knowledge. 

The  same  mental  characteristic  has  been  noted  by  others  ; 
and  in  particular,  a  lecture  by  Sir  James  Paget,  the  eminent 
London  surgeon,  deserves  imtice  m  this  connection.  It  is 
on  the  subject  of 

Hypochondria  from  Sexual  Troubles. 

The  cases  which  he  includes  under  this  name  are  those 
of  male  patients  who  regard  trivial  maladies,  or  even  some 
of  the  natural  events  in  their  sexual  life,  with  the  unreason¬ 
able  dread  and  gloom,  or  watchfulness,  which  are  character¬ 
istic  of  that  species  of  mental  alienation  known  as  hypo¬ 
chondria. 

This  class  is  largely  made  up  of  those  who  are  entirely 
ignorant  about  the  nature  and  laws  of  their  sexual  function  ; 
or  else  they  are  those  of  a  very  emotional  temperament,  prone 
to  excitement,  and  of  an  irritable  class ;  or  else,  and  these 
are  the  most  numerous,  they  are  of  the  class  whose  minds,  so 
far  as  their  sexual  life  and  its  relations  go,  are  really  in  some 
degree  unsound,  and  unable  to  appreciate  properly  the  part 
these  peculiar  functions  ought  to  bear  in  the  life  of  man. 


APPENDIX. 


In  regard  to  those  so  affected  through 

Ignorance  of  Sexual  Affairs 

there  is  little  doubt  that  it  is  much  more  common  both  in 
England  and  this  country  than  one  might  imagine.  Not 
but  that  few  boys  grow  up  without  hearing  vulgar  allusions 
and  coarse  expressions  of  the  sexual  relation  ;  but  authori¬ 
tative  teaching  as  to  what  is  and  what  is  not  hurtful,  of  what 
is  and  what  is  not  lawful,  the  boy  almost  never  hears,  and 
thus  he  is  led  to  form  low  and  incorrect  opinions. 

The  desires  and  the  passions  arise  and  grow  without  the 
knowledge  how  to  direct  and  control  them.  Hence  errors, 
and  fancies,  and  things  half-understood  are  taken  into  the 
mind,  and  in  later  life  become  to  some  men  sources  of  misery 
and  fright,  and  to  some  the  source  of  hypochondria  and 
gloom. 

This  ignorance  may  sometimes  be  dispelled  later  in  life 
by  giving  full  information,  and  when  it  is  thus  supplanted 
with  enlightenment,  the  wretchedness  which  it  causes  goes 
with  it.  But  this  is  an  exceptionally  fortunate  result ;  more 
often,  the  mind  has  been  so  long  under  the  influence  of 
groundless  terrors,  that  even  when  they  are  shown  to  be 
such,  the  mental  effect  continues.  Then,  again,  there  may 
have  been  reasons  for  apprehension,  but  they  have  been 
removed.  Do  the  terrors  leave  with  their  former  exciting 
causes?  No;  the  physical  ailments,  though  definitely  re¬ 
moved,  leave  this  hideous  legacy  of  distrust  and  low  spirits 

Take  a  real  instance.  A  middle-aged  single  man  applies 
to  a  physician,  because  he  is  suffering  from  too  frequent 


334 


APPENDIX. 


losses  during  sleep.  They  are  evidently  too  frequent,  not 
because  they  exceed  a  certain  number,  for,  as  we  have  stated 
on  a  former  page  (p.  85),  there  is  no  definite  and  invari¬ 
able  rule  in  this  respect,  but  because  they  leave  behind  them 
a  sense  of  marked  lassitude  and  exhaustion,  a  feeling  of  in¬ 
capacity  for  mental  and  physical  labor. 

The  case  is  taken  in  hand,  and  at  the  end  of  two  or  three 
months  the  discharges  are  more  rare,  and  are  not  followed 
by  any  perceptible  sense  of  exhaustion.  The  general  health 
is  improved,  the  appetite  keener,  the  bowels  well  regulated. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  physician  the  man  is  well 

Not  so,  in  his  own  opinion.  He  has  become  possessed 
with  the  fear  that  his  sexual  powers  are  permanently  im¬ 
paired  by  the  diseased  conditions  they  experienced  for  a 
time.  He  presses  for  further  information  on  this  point,  and 
is  decided  in  his  statement  that  he  is  convinced  he  never 
will  be  able  to  enter  properly  the  marital  relation. 

The  physician  attempts  to  show  him  that  he  is  free  from 
disease,  that  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  he  will 
remain  so,  and  that  therefore  his  fears  are  without  founda¬ 
tion,  or,  at  any  rate,  absurdly  premature.  Ho  such  rational 
arguments  convince  him,  or  diminish  his  anxieties  ?  Not 
at  all.  He  continues  to  have  the  same  spells  of  low  spirits, 
and  belief  that  he  is  impotent. 

This  portrait,  which,  as  we  have  said,  is  one  painted  from 
nature,  is  that  of  a  man  who  must  be  supposed  to  have  a 
diseased  mind ;  to  be,  on  this  point,  actually  insane.  And 
it  is  by  no  means  a  rare  case. 

Another  frequent  cause  of  this  form  of  depression  is  that 
which  follows  a  belief  that  a  man  is  suffering  from  sperm- 


APPENDIX. 


335 


atorrhoea  when  nothing  of  the  kind  is  present.  This  is  by 
no  means  confined  to  youth.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  very 
common  about  middle  life,  or  a  little  after  it,  when  the 
powers  begin  to  fail. 

Many  men  at  this  period  are  excessively  anxious  about 
themselves,  and  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  natural 
abatement  of  their  force  is  owing  to  disease  of  the  part  rather 
than  to  that  normal  diminution  of  the  powers  which  is 
characteristic  of  their  period  of  life. 

To  discover  this  imaginary  disease  they  will  often  inspect 
with  great  anxiety  their  urine.  It  frequently  presents  to 
the  eye  some  shreds  of  mucus,  or  signs  of  the  secretion 
from  the  prostatic  glands,  opening  into  the  urethra  in  front 
of  the  bladder.  These,  they  convince  themselves,  proceed 
from  the  seminal  vessels. 

Varicocele 

Again,  as  Sir  James  Paget  remarks,  there  are  some  to 
whom,  through  ignorance  or  misguidance,  a  varicocele  is  a 
source  of  misery  and  dismay.  A  varicocele  is  an  enlarge¬ 
ment  of  the  veins  which  lead  to  the  scrotum,  and  occasion¬ 
ally,  by  their  painful,  dragging  sensation,  cause  pain  and 
annoyance.  Quacks  not  unfrequently  very  much  exagge¬ 
rate  the  importance  of  this  malformation,  and  pretend  that 
it  is  a  forerunner  of  impotence  and  of  wasting  of  the  parts. 
Such  fears  are  groundless. 

A  varicocele  is  troublesome  because  of  the  sense  of  weight 
and  aching  which  sometimes  accompanies  it,  and  which  is 
generally  increased  by  long  standing  and  walking.  In  some 
cases,  also,  the  veins  become  inflamed  and  sensitive.  But 


336 


APPENDIX. 


this  is  the  utmost  harm  which  a  varicocele  does,  and  it  never 
produces  either  impotence  or  wasting  of  the  part. 

The  utmost  treatment  which  is  required  is  to  wear  a  sus¬ 
pensory  bandage,  and  to  use  a  cooling,  evaporating  lotion 
when  the  part  is  painful  from  much  standing  or  walking. 
It  is  needless  to  give  the  matter  any  special  attention,  and 
the  less  so,  as  it  is  a  complaint  which  tends  to  diminish  of 
itself  as  years  advance.  It  is  said  by  some  who  have  ex¬ 
amined  men  for  military  service,  that  about  one  man  in 
twelve  has  this  defect,  and  many  of  them  are  hardly  aware 
of  it  until  informed  of  it  by  the  examining  surgeon. 

Another  prevalent  cause  of  hypochondria  from  sexual 
relations  is  the 

Spinal  Irritation 

which  is  not  unfrequent  in  men  of  nervous  temperament 
and  feeble  constitution.  The  backache,  exhaustion,  sense 
of  languor  and  general  malaise  which  these  persons  experi¬ 
ence  after  sexual  connection  or  natural  emissions  during 
sleep  are  by  no  means  signs  of  weakened  organs  or  threat¬ 
ened  impotency.  In  many  the  same  symptoms  are  present 
after  any  unusually  severe  muscular  or  mental  exertion. 
They  are  generally  remediable  by  treatment  adapted  to  in¬ 
vigorate  the  whole  system  and  relieve  the  particular  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  spinal  cord  which  leads  to  such  sensations. 

In  many  such  cases,  great  difficulty  is  found  in  persuad¬ 
ing  the  patient  that  his  sufferings  do  not  find  their  origin 
in  some  bad  habit  he  has  at  some  past  time  been  addicted 
to.  This  fear  increases  both  his  misery  and  the  difficulties 
encountered  by  the  physician  in  relieving  it. 


APPENDIX. 


337 


Such  a  patient  is  full  of  apprehensions.  He  finds  it  im¬ 
possible  to  divert  his  mind  from  his  generative  powers,  and 
his  constant  solicitude  about  his  symptoms  aggravates  and 
exaggerates  them.  This  leads  to  further  mischief.  Such 
a  direction  of  his  mind  depresses  the  whole  nervous  system  ; 
and  what  is  more,  produces  a  special  irritability  in  the  nerves 
of  the  part  to  which  the  attention  is  directed.  So  that  it  is 
really  possible  that  the  very  anxiety  lest  he  has  the  malady, 
brings  it  on. 

Few  conditions  are  more  to  be  pitied  than  that  of  the 
hypochondriacs  who  thus  suffer,  and  few  are  more  difficult 
to  cure.  As  we  are  writing  this,  not  as  a  work  of  instruc¬ 
tion  to  physicians,  but  to  aid  the  sufferer  in  relieving  him¬ 
self  as  much  as  it  is  practicable  for  him  to  do,  we  cannot 
urge  too  strongly  upon  all  who  are  thus  tormenting  them¬ 
selves  to  strive  for  the  strength,  the  courage,  and  the  man¬ 
liness  to  throw  aside  this  burden. 

How  is  this  to  be  done?  We  will  say  how.  The  life 
should  be  fully  occupied  in  muscular,  open-air  work,  if  pos¬ 
sible  ;  at  any  rate,  in  vigorous,  steady  labor  of  some  kind. 
The  general  rules  of  hygiene,  familiar  from  what  we  have 
already  said  on  previous  pages,  should  be  regarded.  Abun¬ 
dance  of  sleep  should  be  taken,  and  habits  of  self-control,  in 
all  things,  should  be  cultivated. 

Especially,  a  resolute  endeavor  must  be  made  not  to  oc¬ 
cupy  the  mind  at  all  with  the  anxieties  and  foreboding  that 
have  so  darkened  its  pleasures. 

The  reply  may  be,  that  this  cannot  be  avoided  ;  that  it  is 
easy  to  prescribe  a  person  not  to  think  of  his  troubles,  but 
to  carry  out  the  precept  is  not  in  his  power. 


338 


APPENDIX. 


To  this  we  answer  that  it  has  been  well  shown  by  Dr. 
Carpenter,  the  eminent  physiologist,  that  mental  training  is 
acquired,  not  by  stifling  a  sentiment,  but  by  substituting  a 
better  one  for  it.  The  true  plan  is,  when  we  wish  to  escape 
that  fretting  of  the  mind  over  some  worrying  topic,  not  to 
say,  “  I  will  not  think  of  that  any  more,”  but  to  say,  “  Here 
is  another  subject  that  I  will  think  of.” 

Let  a  person  always  have  some  important  or  entertaining 
and  worthy  topic  to  which  his  mind  can  turn  in  its  vacant 
moments,  and  thus  he  will  escape  many  a  minute  of  ennui, 
many  an  idle  and  injurious  vagary. 

This  precept,  it  is  said,  is  much  cultivated  among  the 
Buddhist  scholars  of  the  Orient.  One  of  these,  on  arising 
in  the  morning,  selects  a  verse  from  their  sacred  books,  or  a 
topic  from  the  writings  of  some  philosopher,  and  whenever, 
through  the  day,  he  is  engaged  in  some  occupation  which 
permits  his  thoughts  to  wander,  or  when  he  must  pass  a 
period  in  waiting,  he  turns  to  this  verse  or  topic,  and  thinks 
it  over.  At  the  close  of  the  day  he  reviews  his  meditations, 
and  writes  them  down. 

Some  such  plan  as  this  is  an  admirable  one  to  carry  out, 
not  merely  in  the  relation  above  mentioned,  but  in  all  the 
occasions  of  life  where  we  are  threatened  with  ennui,  or 
wish  to  escape  from  our  thoughts. 


APPENDIX. 


339 


III. 

Remarks  on  the  Dangers  of  Solitary  Habits. 

The  readiness  of  doctors  to  disagree  has  often  been  a  sub¬ 
ject  of  sarcastic  allusion,  and  certainly  they  have  often  justly 
exposed  themselves  to  censure  for  hasty  decisions.  This 
may  be  partly  attributed  to  the  prejudices  which  warp  every 
man’s  judgment,  partly  to  deficiency  in  opportunities  of 
observation,  and  partly  to  the  circumstances,  more  or  less 
different,  which  affect  every  phenomenon. 

One  would  think,  however,  that  on  such  a  broad  ques¬ 
tion,  one  apparently  so  easy  of  solution  as  the  effect  on  the 
system  produced  by  indulgence  in  solitary  vice,  there  would 
be  no  great  divergence  of  opinion. 

Yet  such  is  not  the  case.  Among  recent  eminent  writers 
there  is  one  who  has  expressed  himself  so  strongly  on  this 
subject  that  his  words  have  led  us  to  survey  the  ground 
again  with  especial  care,  and  the  result  has  been  that  we 
are  convinced  that  he  has  vastly  underrated  the  evil  results 
of  the  habit. 

As  his  name  is  now  the  most  famous  among  the  surgeons 
of  Great  Britain,  and  his  opinions  mus£  necessarily,  through 
his  works,  republished  in  this  country,  exercise  a  wide  influ¬ 
ence,  we  feel  it  a  duty  in  this  book  to  quote  his  words,  and 


340 


APPENDIX. 


subject  them  to  the  test  of  others’  experience,  and  the  con¬ 
ditions  of  life  and  disease  as  they  appear  with  us. 

The  writer  referred,  to  is  Sir  James  Paget,  Surgeon  in 
Ordinary  to  the  Queen,  and  the  passage  of  his  writings  we 
have  in  mind  is  the  following  extract  from  a  lecture  deliv 
ered  to  physicians  and  students  in  a  London  hospital : — 

“  With  careful  and  positive  teaching  you  will  cure  the 
ignorant,  and  do  good  to  all,  except  those  whose  hypochon¬ 
dria  is  near  to  complete  insanity.  But  on  some  subjects  of 
your  teaching  you  will  have  to  be  very  clear  as  to  matters 
of  fact ;  especially,  for  instance,  as  to  the  practice  of  mas¬ 
turbation,  to  which  many  of  your  patients  will  ascribe  their 
chief  distress. 

u  Now,  I  believe  you  may  teach  positively  that  masturba¬ 
tion  does  neither  more  nor  less  harm  than  intercourse  prac¬ 
ticed  with  the  same  frequency  in  the  same  conditions  of 
general  health,  age  and  circumstances.  Practiced  frequently 
by  the  very  young,  that  is,  at  any  time  before,  or  at  the 
beginning  of  puberty,  masturbation  is  very  likely  to  produce 
exhaustion,  effeminacy,  over-sensitiveness  and  nervousness ; 
just  as  equally  frequent  intercourse  at  the  same  age  would 
probably  produce  them.  Or  practiced  every  day,  or  several 
times  a  day,  either  act  is  likely  to  produce  such  symptoms. 
And  the  mischiefs  are  likely  or  nearly  sure  to  happen,  and 
to  be  greatest  if  the  excesses  are  practiced  by  those  who,  by 
inheritance  or  circumstances,  are  liable  to  any  nervous  dis¬ 
ease,  to  spinal  irritation,  epilepsy,  insanity,  or  any  other. 

“  But  the  mischiefs  are  due  to  the  quantity,  not  to  the 
nature  of  the  excesses ;  and  the  quantity  is  to  be  estimated 
in  relation  to  the  age  and  power  of  the  nervous  system.  I 


APPENDIX. 


341 


have  seen  as  numerous  and  as  great  evils  consequent  upon 
excessive  intercourse  as  on  excessive  masturbation ;  but  I 
have  not  seen  or  heard  anything  to  make  me  believe  that 
the  occasional  practice  of  this  latter  vice  has  any  other  effects 
on  one  who  practices  it  than  has  occasional  intercourse.  I 
wish  I  could  say  something  worse  of  so  nasty  a  practice ; 
an  uncleanliness,  a  filthiness  forbidden  by  God,  an  unman¬ 
liness  despised  by  men.” 

While  so  much  of  this  opinion  will  be  generally  acknowl¬ 
edged  to  be  true  as  asserts  that  the  occasional  indulgence  in 
this  detestable  habit  may  not  leave  after  it  those  permanent 
effects  which  the  quacks  pretend,  and  the  dread  of  which 
drive  so  many  almost  to  despair,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
has  been  abundantly  shown  that  there  is  in  the  habit  itself 
a  peculiar  and  distressing  wear  on  the  nervous  system  which 
leaves  most  serious  traces  for  a  long  time. 

It  has,  for  instance,  been  demonstrated  by  Professor 
Gross,  of  Philadelphia,  that  a  variety  of  stricture  is  brought 
on  by  masturbation,  which  may  in  turn  lead  to  most  serious 
consequences.  These  are,  in  the  milder  forms,  undue  sen¬ 
sitiveness  of  the  urethra,  with  slight  inflammation  along  its 
tract,  and  the  erections  become  imperfect  and  feeble,  and 
ejaculation  too  precipitate.  This  may  continue  until  sexual 
desire  is  abolished,  and  a  condition  of  hypochondria  sets  in, 
with  all  those  difficult  features  which  we  have  previously 
described. 

There  are,  moreover,  other  very  serious  differences  be¬ 
tween  intercourse  and  the  solitary  vice.  The  temptation  to 
carry  the  latter  to  excess  is  far  greater  than  is  the  case  with 
the  former;  and  the  excitations,  abnormal  and  excessive, 


342 


APPENDIX. 


which  are  encouraged  to  provoke  it,  cannot  but  have  a  long- 
continued  disastrous  influence. 

Another  grave  charge  against  it  is  its  prevalence  in  early, 
we  may  say  very  early  life.  Even  in  infants  it  is  not  un¬ 
known,  and  should  be  carefully  watched  for.  An  able 
American  writer  on  diseases  of  children,  Dr.  Jacobi,  has 
recently  called  especial  attention  to  this  subject.  He  points 
out  that  young  children  may  be  prompted  to  it  by  some 
condition  of  the  urine,  by  the  presence  of  seat  worms,  or  by 
acquired  nervous  derangements,  as  well  as  by  the  vicious 
instructions  of  those  around  them. 

He  recommends  that  regular  bathing  and  constant  occu¬ 
pation  under  intelligent  supervision,  are  important  precau¬ 
tions.  Children  must  not  be  permitted  to  sit  on  the  floor 
too  long ;  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  in  bed  after 
waking  up,  but  induced  to  rise  and  dress  at  once.  Habits 
of  solitude,  and  the  inclination  to  indulge  the  imagination, 
should  be  broken  up,  and  active  out-door  exercise  insisted  on. 


INDEX 


X 


A. 

PAGE 

Abortion,  criminal .  194 

Accidents,  inheritance  of  the  results  of .  205 

Acquired  habits,  their  hereditary  nature .  225 

Acton,  William,  M.R.C.S.,  etc.,  his  views  on  popular 

medical  instruction .  268 

Age,  how  to  retain  virility  in .  46 

Agenetic  period .  190 

Alcohol,  effects  of,  on  virility . 49,  58 

its  influence  on  the  heart .  290 

Aneurism,  influence  of  sex  on .  296 

Amherst  College,  weight  and  height  of  students  of .  16 

Anger,  may  be  inherited .  223 

Apoplexy,  the  influence  of  sex  on .  290 

Artist,  the,  his  views  of  man .  257 

Asthma,  an  inheritance .  209 

influence  of  sex  on .  294 


§ 


(  343  ■) 


344 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

Atavism,  what  it  is .  213 

a  cause  of  non-inheritance .  227 

Athletes,  the  continence  of .  37 

Auzias-Turenne  on  “  svphilization” . . .  127 

Avarice,  may  be  inherited . . .  223 

Avoidance  and  limitation  of  offspring .  189 

Augustus,  King  of  Poland,  the  number  of  children  of.....  181 

B. 

Bachelors,  celebrities  among .  62 

Bachelorhood,  advantages  of. .  61 

proper  reasons  for . 64 

disadvantages  of. .  67 

Baravicino  de  Capellis,  the  remarkable  case  of. .  37 

Becquerel,  the  statistics  of. .  68 

Beer-drinking,  an  effect  of .  55 

Bichat  on  the  transmission  of  life .  18 

Blindness,  a  cause  of. .  246 

Board  of  State  Charities  of  Massachusetts,  fifth  annual 

report  of .  95 

British  and  Foreign  Medico-Chirurgical  Quarterly  Re¬ 
view,  its  views  on  popular  education .  271 

Bronchitis  a  result  of  excessive  indulgence .  237 

Bromide  of  potassium,  a  useful  preparation  of. .  81 


INDEX. 


345 


PAGE 

Bronchitis,  influence  of  sex  on .  294 

Buffon  on  life  in  the  old  and  new  worlds .  57 

C- 

Cancer,  influence  of  sex  on .  298 

Camphor  and  hops . . .  55 

Cancer,  its  hereditary  nature .  208 

Castration,  effects  of. .  31 

Castratos .  30 

Celibacy,  advantages  of. . 61 

proper  reasons  for .  64 

disadvantages  of .  67 

Chamber,  hygiene  of .  171 

Charlatans,  the  evil  influence  of .  264 

Chorea,  influence  of  sex  on .  292 

Chrysostom,  St.  John,  on  marital  continence .  191 

Cicero  on  the  pleasures  of  love .  39 

Circumstances  hostile  to  inheritance .  227 

Cleanliness,  the  necessity  of,  in  boys .  25 

Climate,  its  influence  on  puberty .  20 

Cod-liver  oil  a  remedy  in  inherited  disposition  to  disease  213 

Co-education  of  the  sexes .  281 

Conception,  nature  of  . .  185 

Conclusion,  the . 323 


346 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

Constipation,  the  causes  of. .  298 

Constitution,  the,  its  influence  on  the  age  of  puberty .  22 

Consummation  of  marriage .  144 

its  signification . • .  144 

* 

obstacles  to .  150 

Consumption,  how  frequently  inherited .  208 

influence  of  sex  on . 294 

Convulsions,  a  cause  of .  242 

a  result  of  venereal  excess .  238 

Cousins  marrying .  138 

Cowardice,  may  be  inherited .  223 

Crime,  hereditary  character  of .  220 

Criminal  class,  peculiarities  of  the .  221 

Criminal  abortion . 194 

Cure,  prospects  of,  in  nervous  troubles .  249 

means  of,  in  nervous  troubles .  251 

D. 

Dangers  of  excess .  178 

Deafness,  a  cause  of . 247 

Debility .  155 

Decay  of  virility .  38 

De  Longueville,  his  age  when  last  married .  37 


I 


INDEX.  347 

PAGE 

Desire,  effects  of  food  and  drink  on .  46 

drugs  which  stimulate . . .  51 

drugs  which  moderate .  54 

“Diary  of  a  London  Physician” .  101 

* 

Digestion,  disorders  of .  248 

Disease,  the  relation  of  sex  to .  289 

Diseased  children,  how  to  avoid  having .  205 

Divorce,  the  Christian  law  of. .  313 

Diverse  theories,  two,  of  social  life .  277 

Dormitory  regulations,  hints  on .  25 

* 

Drunkard’s  legacy,  the .  219 

Drinks  which  strengthen  virility .  46 

which  weaken  virility .  48 

Dropsy,  influence  of  sex  on .  297 

Dutcher,  Prof.  A.  P.,  on  the  effects  of  venereal  excess .  237 

Dyspepsia,  a  cause  of. .  248 

E. 

Early  sex-passion . 77 

Education,  effect  of,  through  the  parent  on  the  child .  224 

Edward  Gray,  the  ballad  of .  65 

Electricity,  the  use  of .  168 

Engagements,  long .  140 

24 


INDEX. 


848 

PAGE 

Envy,  may  be  inherited .  228 

Epilepsy,  inheritable . . . . .  209 

a  result  of  venereal  excess . . .  238 

the  influence  of  sex  on .  291 

* 

Example  of  prolonged  virility .  37 

Excess,  dangers  of. .  178 

what  is  excess  ? . .  181 

twofold  nature  of. . 179 

Excessive  indulgence,  danger  of,  in  old  men .  236 

Extraordinary  example  of  inheritance .  215 

♦ 

F. 

Fallen,  the  fate  of  the .  115 

Fathers,  what  they  bequeath  children .  201 

Fidelity,  paramount  duty  of. .  142 

Flirt,  the  male...' . ;..  141 

Fly  blisters,  a  caution  in  regard  to . 54 

Flogging,  the  dangers  of .  26 

Flourens  on  longevity .  56 

Food  and  drinks  which  strengthen  virility . '. ...  46 

weaken .  49 

Form  of  disease,  changed  by  inheritance .  209,  218 

Frights,  needless .  85 

Frescobaldi,  Dianora,  the  family  of. . . .  189 


INDEX, 


349 


G. 

PAGE 

Gambling,  may  be  inherited .  223 

Genius,  is  it  inheritable? .  217 

why  unfruitful .  217' 

Girault,  Dr.,  of  Paris,  his  recent  essay . .  .  165 

Goethe,  extract  from  the  Faust  of . . .  43 

Gout,  an  inheritance .  209 

influence  of  sex  on . . . .  296 

H. 

Harvard  College,  weight  and  height  of  students  of .  16 

Headache,  influence  of  sex  on .  293 

Health  in  relation  to  symmetry . .  258 

Heathendom,  sexual  relations  in . 304 

Heart,  disease  of,  the  result  of  inheritance .  • .  209 

disease,  influence  of  sex  on .  295 

Hereditary  diseases,  hygienic  treatment  of . .  211 

Hidden  nature  of  hereditary  diseases .  210 

Hip-disease,  a  result  of  generative  malformation . .  235 

Hops,  the  active  principle  of .  81 

Hufeland,  Dr.,  on  the  means  which  shorten  life .  73 

Husbands  and  wives .  71 

Husband  as  a  father .  184 

Hygiene  of  puberty . •  22 


350 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Hygiene  of  virility .  35 

Hygienic  treatment  of  hereditary  diseases .  211 

Hysteria,  the  transmission  of .  209 

influence  of  sex  on .  292 

I. 

Ignorance  concerning  marriage .  14G 

Ill-usage,  inheritance  of  the  consequence  of .  205 

Immunity  to  disease  hereditary .  210 

Impotence .  157 

Individual  responsibility,  how  affected  by  the  heritage  of 

immorality .  222,  225 

Indians,  American,  a  custom  among .  170 

Inheritance .  201 

physical  qualities  we  inherit .  201 

how  to  avoid  transmitting  disease .  205 

mental  qualities  we  inherit .  216 

is  our  moral  nature  inheritable? .  220 

Inherited  tendency  to  drink,  ineradicable  nature  of .  220 

Insanity,  a  cause  of. .  75 

inheritable .  209 

oftener  transmitted  to  daughters .  210 

oftener  transmitted  by  mother .  209 

influence  of  sex  on . -*• .  294 


INDEX. 


351 


PAGE 

Intermarriage  of  near  relatives .  138 

Intemperance,  a  cause  of  dropsy .  297 

Intoxication,  a  cause  of  degenerate  offspring .  218 

effect  of,  on  offspring .  218 

Iron,  a  receipt  for .  91 

Irving,  Washington,  the  deep  sentiment  of. .  66 

J. 

Jealousy,  may  be  inherited .  223 

K. 

Kingsley,  Canon,  on  the  influence  of  race .  228 

L. 

Lancet,  the  London,  its  views  on  popular  education .  272 

Laodicea,  anecdote  of. .  156 

uLaw  of  diversity” .  227 

Laws  of  inheritance  in  disease .  210 

Laycock,  Prof.  Thomas,  on  venereal  excess .  179 

Lethargy . 152 

Lecky,  Mr.,  extract  from  his  “  History  of  European 
Morals” . 315 


352 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Libertinagc,  may  be  inherited .  223 

Limitation  of  offspring .  189 

Liver,  enlargement  of,  the  influence  of  sex  on .  298 

Locksley  Hall,  an  extract  from .  66 

Longevity,  Flourens  on .  56 

Loss  of  power,  special  treatment .  167 

of  virility  prematurely,  a  national  tendency .  66 

Lung-fever,  influence  of  sex  on .  295 

M. 

Malformations,  the  results  of. . . . 25,  160 

Mangan,  Clarence,  lines  from .  41 

Man’s  liability  to  disease  as  compared  to  woman’s .  289 

specific  function .  17 

Man,  unsexed .  31 

Manhood,  signs  of  established .  32 

the  physical  type  of .  257 

Marriage,  an  excellent  definition  of .  132 

consummation  of .  144 

ignorance  concerning .  146 

meaning  of .  131 

physical  fitness  and  unfitness  for .  133 

preliminaries  of .  131 

the  relation  of... .  147 


INDEX. 


353 


PAGE 

Marriages,  judicious,  effect  of,  on  hereditary  affections...  204 

Married  life .  131 

Marital  relations .  173 

dangers  of  excess .  178 

what  is  excess? . . .  181 

Masinissa,  King  of  Numidia,  his  age  when  married .  37 

Masturbation .  70 

its  consequences .  73 

its  prevention . .  76 

its  cure .  79 

Maudsley,  Dr.  Henry,  the  counsels  of. . 74,  82 

Means  of  cure  in  nervous  affections .  251 

Medical  journals,  their  opinions  on  popular  medical  edu¬ 
cation  . 271 

views  on  popular  medical  instruction .  261 

and  Surgical  Reporter,  editorial  of  on  popular  medi¬ 
cal  education .  272 

Mental  qualities,  the,  which  we  inherit .  216 

Middle  Ages,  unfortunate  doctrines  during  the .  316 

Mind,  purity  of,  a  remedial  measure .  80 

Montaigne,  Michel  de,  on  hereditary  resemblance .  214 

Moral  heritage  in  relation  to  individual  responsibility  222,  225 

nature,  our,  is  it  inheritable  ? .  220 

relations  of  the  sexual  life .  308 

Mortality  of  males . . .  17 


354 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

Mosaic  law,  sexual  relations  in  the .  305 

Mumps,  a  risk  from .  34 

Muscular  development,  its  bearing  on  the  hygiene  of 

puberty .  24 

Musset,  Alfred  de,  a  beautiful  poem  of .  69 

N. 

National  tendency,  our,  to  premature  loss  of  virility .  56 

Nature  of  conception .  185 

Natural  theology  of  the  future .  229 

Nervous  disorders  originating  in  the  male  generative 

system . 233 

system,  disorders  of,  inheritable .  209 

prostration,  how  produced  in  many  cases .  243 

Neuralgia,  influence  of  sex  on .  293 

Neutralizing  effect  of  one  parent  over  the  other  in  in¬ 
heritance .  227 

New  Testament,  the  teachings  of  the . 311 

O. 

Obesity,  influence  of,  on  generative  power .  162 

Occupations,  influence  of,  on  puberty .  21 


INDEX. 


355 


PAGE 

Occupations,  influence  of,  on  virility .  45 

Offspring,  avoidance  and  limitation  of. .  189 

Old  age,  the  perils  of. . . .  235 

men,  disease  peculiar  to .  299 

words  to  the .  39 

Opponents  of  popular  medical  instruction .  262 

Origen,  the  fanaticism  of .  30 

Oxford,  weight  and  height  of  students  of. .  16 

P. 

Paralysis,  partial,  the  result  of  generative  malformations  234 

inheritable .  209 

Paresis,  definition  of. .  243 

Parr,  Thomas,  how  old  when  married .  37 

Passion,  what  it  is .  27 

Pastilles  de  serail,  a  warning  against .  52 

Peculiar  form  of  inheritance .  214 

Perfect  human  creature,  the  unity  of  the  sexes  in  the....  276 

Phosphoric  acid  lemonade .  169 

Phosphorus,  the  use  of .  169 

Physical  traits  of  the  male .  15 

type  of  manhood .  257 

Physiognomy,  the,  of  the  whole  body .  259 


356 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Police  registration . Ill 

Popular  medical  instruction,  the  opponents  of .  262 

Population,  a  curious  law  of .  17 

Portalis,  Count  of,  his  definition  of  marriage .  132 

Power .  167 

maximum  of . . .  181 

Premature  loss  of  virility,  a  national  tendency .  56 

Pride,  instance  of  the  inheritance  of .  223 

Pritchard,  Dr.,  his  case  of  atavism .  213 

Prostate  gland,  enlargement  of  the .  299 

Prostration  of  the  nervous  system,  the  causes  of .  243 

Prostitution .  110 

in  the  United  States .  Ill 

Us  effects  on  the  woman .  114 

its  consequence  to  the  man .  116 

the  causes  that  maintain  it .  118 

is  it  a  necessary  evil  ? .  120 

how  can  it  be  stopped  ? . 122 

shall  it  be  regulated  by  law  ? .  125 

Puberty .  19 

what  it  is . 19 

what  hastens  it .  21 

its  hygiene .  22 


INDEX. 


357 


Q. 

PAGE 

Question,  a  national. . . . 193 

Quetelet,  the  statistics  of . 4 .  16 

Quinine,  a  mixture  containing .  81 

R. 

Race,  influence  of. . . .  228 

Receipt,  a  useful .  91 

Receipts,  valuable .  81 

Reform,  where  it  should  begin .  128 

Regimen  Sanitatis .  55 

Remedies  in  nervous  affections .  251 

Reticence,  dangers  of .  253 

Resemblance  of  children  to  parents,  why  not  closer .  226 

Rheumatism,  influence  of  sex  on .  297 

Rondibilis,  his  advice  to  Panurge .  54 

Rules,  practical,  on  inheritance .  211 

S 

Sad  subject .  71 

Saturninus,  the  doctrines  of .  313 

Sayre,  Dr.  Lewis  A.,  on  generative  malformations .  234 


358 


INDEX. 


pa  as 

Schools,  directions  for .  79 

hygiene  of . 25 

Secret  diseases .  94 

their  effects  and  frequency .  94 

their  nature  and  history .  96 

their  course  and  consequences .  98 

sin  of  father  visited  on  the  children .  102 

after  disease,  how  soon  to  marry .  104 

how  to  prevent  disease .  106 

personal  prevention .  107 

Seclusion,  theory  of .  277 

Self-abuse .  71 

Sex,  distinction  of .  15 

the  relation  of,  to  disease .  289 

Sexes  at  will .  195 

Sexes,  the  co-education  of. .  281 

the  unity  of,  in  the  perfect  human  creature .  276 

the  relation  of,  in  early  youth .  275 

Sexual  function,  its  co-relations .  58 

Sex-passion,  early .  77 

Shakspeare,  his  knowledge  of  the  human  heart .  44 

Sight,  debility  of,  how  produced .  245 

Signs  of  established  virility .  32 

Sims,  Dr.  Marion,  his  researches  on  sterility .  164 

Sin  of  the  father  visited  on  the  children .  102 

\ 


INDEX. 


359 


PAGE 

Smith,  Abbotts,  M.D.,  etc.,  his  views  on  popular  medical 

instruction .  283 

Social  evil,  the .  110 

prostitution  in  the  United  States .  Ill 

its  effects  on  the  woman . ; .  1 1 4 

its  consequences  to  the  man .  116 

the  causes  that  maintain  it .  118 

is  it  a  necessary  evil  ? .  120 

how  can  it  be  stopped  ? .  122 

shall  it  be  regulated  by  law  ? .  125 

union,  the  theory  of .  279 

Solitary  vice,  the .  71 

its  consequences .  73 

its  prevention .  76 

.  its  cure .  79 

Spartan  laws  on  celibacy .  63 

Special  senses,  disorders  of .  245 

Specific  function,  man’s, .  17 

Spermatorrhoea . 84 

what  brings  it  about .  87 

how  to  prevent  it .  89 

how  to  cure  it .  89 

Stature  of  male  and  female  infants  compared .  15 

Sterility  in  man .  163 

woman’s  period  of .  190 


360 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Stone  in  the  bladder,  its  frequency .  299 

Storer,  Dr.,  his  views  on  popular  medical  instruction .  266 

St.  Vitus’  dance,  the  influence  of  sex  on .  292 

Superstition,  a  curious . 155 

Symmetry,  the  details  of .  257 

Syphilis,  history  of. .  97 

of  the  nervous  system .  239 

“  Syphilophobia” .  101 

T. 

Tabes  dorsalis,  what  it  is .  240 

Talent  the  offspring  of  talent .  216 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  on  marital  indulgence .  175 

Temperament,  its  influence  on  puberty .  21 

Theft,  a  hereditary  crime  often .  223 

Thought  and  inclinations  hereditable .  221 

Thury’s,  Prof.,  law  on  production  of  sex .  196 

Tobacco,  a  consequence  of  the  excessive  use  of. .  57 

Traits,  physical,  of  the  male .  15 

Transmission,  laws  of. .  103 

Type  of  manhood,  the  physical. ..  .  257 

Typhoid  fever,  influence  of  sex  on .  299 


INDEX. 


361 


u. 

PAGE 

Unsoundness  of  mind,  often  inherited .  217 

Y. 

Virginity,  tests  of .  149 

Virility .  33 

signs  of  its  establishment .  33 

its  hygiene... .  35 

examples  of  prolonged .  37 

its  decay .  39 

causes  that  hasten  its  loss .  41 

diseases  which  shorten  it .  43 

effects  of  occupations  and  exercises .  45 

how  to  retain  it  in  age .  40 

the  food  and  drinks  which  strengthen  it .  46 

the  food  and  drinks  which  weaken  it .  49 

effects  of  drugs .  51 

our  national  tendency  to  the  premature  loss  of .  56 

Virtuous  habits,  can  they  be  transmitted  ? .  224 

W. 

Ware,  Prof.  John,  his  valuable  work .  268 

Warnings,  meaning  of  the  Biblical,  in  relation  to  the  sexes  310 


INDEX. 


8M 

PAGfi 

Wasting,  a  cause  of. .  240 

Watson,  Prof.  Thomas,  on  the  cause  of  epilepsy .  242 

Weight  of  male  and  female  infants  compared .  15 

Wife,  choice  of  a . 137 

Winn,  Dr.  J.  M.,  his  rules  on  inheritance .  211 

Why  children  do  not  more  closely  resemble  parents .  226 

Woman’s  liability  to  disease  as  compared  with  man’s .  219 

Words  to  the  old .  39 

Y 

Youalt,  the  axioms  of,  on  inheritance .  205 

Young,  words  to  the .  41 

Y  outh,  the  physical  sh-sj^eteristics  of. .  .  - .  19 


TESTIMONIALS. 


The  publishers  take  pleasure  in  presenting 
the  following  testimonials  to  the  practical  value 
and  the  moral  tone  of  this  work : — 


FROM  THE  REV.  JOHN  TODD,  D.  D., 

Author  ofu  The  Student's  Manual,"  “  Index 

Rerum, ”  etc. 

Geo.  H.  T^apheys,  M.  D. — 

Dear  Sir:  I  am  surprised  at  the  extent  and 
accuracy  of  your  reading;  the  judiciousness  of 
your  positions  and  results;  the  clear,  unequi¬ 
vocal,  and  yet  delicate  and  appropriate  language 


vi 


TESTIMONIALS. 


used;  and  the  amount  of  valuable  information 
conveyed.  It  is  comparatively  a  new,  but  very 
important  field,  and  you  have  done  well.  The 
book  cannot  fail,  I  think,  to  do  good — great 
good — if  rightly  heeded. 

Yours  truly, 

JNO.  TODD. 

Pittsfield,  Mass..  Dec.  26,  1870. 


FROM  BISHOP  LEYI  SCOTT,  D.D., 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

11  I  partake  largely  of  the  favorable  opinion 
of  Dr.  Todd,  and  wish  your  work  great  success.” 


FROM  THE  REY.  H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL, 

Missionary  Secretary  for  Nevj  England  of  the 
American  S.  S.  Union. 

Dr.  Napheys — 

My  dear  Friend  :  You  certainly  have  a  very 
rare  power  of  writing  from  a  scientific  stand- 


TESTIMONIALS.  vii 

point,  with  extreme  plainness  and  entire  purity, 
of  the  most  delicate  matters  that  concern  us  all. 
I,  who  know  you,  accept  this  as  added  evidence 
that  “to  the  pure  all  things  are  pure;”  and  I  am 
indeed  glad  that  you  were  called  to  the  mission 
you  have  performed  so  well. 

Your  new  work,  on  “The  Transmission  of 
Life,”  is  one  that  every  boy,  and  every  man, 
every  bachelor,  parent,  or  teacher,  should  have 
and  read,  and  be  grateful  for.  I  have  given 
sufficient  study  to  the  ways  and  needs  of  boys 
and  young  men,  to  appreciate  perhaps  more 
fully  than  most,  the  importance  of  your  theme. 
I  have  been  much  instructed  by  your  writings, 
and  I  desire  others  to  be  benefited  thereby. 

Yocn  cachings  are  based  on  the  word  of  God, 
and  the  i^ure  of  man ;  they  tend  to  build 
up  man  into  tbe  lost  image  of  God,  and  to  re¬ 
store  his  body  to  its  primitive  beauty  and  purity, 
as  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  wish  I  could 
say  what  would  give  your  work  the  very  widest 


TESTIMONIALS. 


4  •  • 

VIII 

circulation,  and  secure  to  your  views  tlie  mosl 
general  adoption. 

Yours  sincerely, 

H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL. 
Hartford,  Ct.,  Feb.  8,  1871. 


FROM  THE  RT.  REY.  THOMAS  MARCH 
CLARK,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Rhode  Islands 
Geo.  H.  Napiieys,  M.  D. — 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  read  your  work  entitled 
“The  Transmission  of  Life,”  and  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  I  regard  it  as  a  most  timely 
and  valuable  treatise  on  an  important  and  deli¬ 
cate  subject.  I  do  not  see  a  line  to  which  the 
most  fastidious  could  object,  and  I  believe  that 
its  general  circulation  among  the  young  would 
avert  a  vast  amount  of  misery  and  sin. 

Very  truly  yours, 

THOMAS  M.  CLARK. 
Providence,  R.  L,  March  16,  1871- 


TESTIMONIALS. 


is 


FROM  BISHOP  T.  A.  MORRIS,  D.D., 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

u  The  subject  of  this  work  is  one  of  intense 
interest,  and  the  manner  of  treating  it  is  very 
proper.  Both  will  command  public  attention 
and  approval.  May  the  book  find  a  hearty 
welcome  among  all  the  wise  and  good.” 


FROM  THE  REY.  HORACE  BTJSHNELL,  H.H.? 

Hartford ,  Connecticut . 

Hr.  Napheys — 

Hear  Sir  :  I  have  read  your  book  with 
great  satisfaction.  I  see  it  to  be  a  work  im¬ 
mensely  wanted,  and  think  it  will  do  much 
good.  The  subject,  as  related  to  family  life  and 
the  condition  of  posterity,  is  a  really  awful  one, 
and  ought  to  be  just  as  much  more  awful  to 


X 


TESTIMONIALS. 


young  men,  as  it  more  deeply  concerns  their 
welfare.  Give  it  as  great  circulation  as  you 
can. 

Yery  respectfully  yours, 

HORACE  BTJSHNELL. 


FROM  THE  REY.  LEONARD  BACON,  D.D. 

New  Haven ,  Connecticut. 

“I  think  you  have  treated  very  judiciously  a 
difficult  subject.  My  belief  that  some  such 
work  may  be  useful  is  derived  from  the  fact 
that  the  newspapers  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
overflow  with  advertisements  addressed  to  the 
ignorance,  the  fears,  and  the  guilt  of  trans¬ 
gressors.  If  your  book  can  diminish  the  sale  of 
the  nostrums  offered  in  those  advertisements — 
still  more,  if  it  can  put  any  on  their  guard 
against  the  vices  which  make  such  advertise¬ 
ments  worth  paying  for,  you  will  have  done  a 
good  work.” 


TESTIMONIALS. 


XI 


FROM  THE  REY.  HENRY  A.  NELSON,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Systematic  and  Pastoral  Theology , 
Lane  Seminary ,  Cincinnati ,  Ohio. 

“  You  have  treated  an  important  subject  with 
great  wisdom  and  fidelity.  I  could  wish  every 
young  person  to  receive  early  the  valuable — 
shall  I  not  say  necessary  ?— -instruction  which  it 
contains.” 


FROM  PROF.  WILLIAM  G.  WILLIAMS, 

Leavenworth ,  Kansas. 

“  The  spirit  of  candor  and  delicacy  as  well  as 
the  high  moral  tone  and  profound  reverence  for 
the  sacred  mysteries  both  of  our  physical  organi¬ 
zation  and  of  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  every¬ 
where  apparent  in  the  work,  are  worthy  of  all 
praise.  Not  less  remarkable  are  the  ability, 
learning,  and  professional  skill  of  the  author 


xii 


TESTIMONIALS. 


displayed  in  the  treatment  of  the  various  topics 
discussed.” 


FROM  THE  KEY.  C.  P.  SHELDON,  D.D., 

President  of  the  New  York  Baptist  Convention , 
Pastor  of  the  Fifth  Baptist  Church , 

Troy ,  N.  Y. 

11 1  have  read  attentively  the  advance  sheets 
of  the  work  by  Dr.  Napheys,  entitled  4  The 
Transmission  of  Life.’  The  subjects  of  which 
it  treats  are  of  great  importance;  and  I  am 
much  pleased  with  the  careful,  candid,  and  able 
manner  in  which  Dr.  Napheys  discusses  them. 
The  public  need  just  such  information,  and  in 
this  work  it  is  so  imparted,  that  it  cannot  but 
be  healthful  and  salutary.  In  moral  and  relb 
gious  tone  it  is  unexceptionable.  I  earnestly 
recommend  its  publication  and  circulation.” 


TESTIMONIALS. 


Xlll 


FROM  NOAH  PORTER,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

President  of  Yale  College. 

Dr.  Geo.  H.  Napheys — 

Dear  Sir  :  I  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  yout 

work  on  “  The  Transmission  of  Life.”  There 
is  in  it  much  valuable  information,  carefully  con¬ 
sidered  and  industriously  collected.  The  topics 
— of  greatest  delicacy — are  treated  with  all  pos¬ 
sible  refinement,  while  the  much-needed  warn¬ 
ings  concerning  the  offences  against  nature,  which 
are  practised  in  ignorance  by  many,  and  with 
shamelessness  by  others,  are  faithfully  adminis¬ 
tered.  Very  respectfully, 

N.  PORTER. 


FROM  DR.  S.  AUSTIN  ALLIBONE, 

.  Author  of  the  u  Dictionary  of  Authors .” 

Geo.  H.  Napheys,  M.  D. — 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  read  through  your  work 
on  “The  Transmission  of  Life,”  and  think  it 


xlv 


TESTIMONIALS. 


calculated  to  be  extensively  useful.  The  subjects 
discussed  are  of  great  importance ;  the  literary 
style  is  excellent — terse,  vigorous,  and  perspic¬ 
uous  ;  the  philanthropic  zeal  evinced  is  highly 
creditable  to  your  heart;  and  the  moral  and  reli¬ 
gious  spirit  of  the  work  is  such  as  to  give  me  a 
profound  respect  for  the  writer.  The  tendency  of 
the  book  is  good,  and  good  only.  It  makes  vice 
abhorrent,  and  virtue  cheaply  purchased  by  all 
the  wholesome  restraints  which  it  imposes. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  faithfully  yours, 

S.  AUSTIN  ALLIBONE. 
Philadelphia,  March  10,  1871. 


FROM  THE  KEY.  ABNER  JACKSON, 

D.  H.,  EL.  D., 

President  of  Trinity  College ,  Hartford ,  Ct. 

U1  have  found  your  volume  both  interesting 
and  instructive.  It  contains  a  large  amount  of 
useful  information  and  suggestion  in  regard  to 


TESTIMONIALS. 


XV 


human  welfare  and  duty.  Matters  of  great  de¬ 
licacy,  but  of  great  importance  in  their  bearings 
on  health  and  happiness,  are  here  treated  of  in  a 
manner  to  instruct  and  guide,  without  shocking, 
or  giving  offence.  The  wide  circulation  of  this 
work  cannot  fail  to  do  good.” 


FROM  REV.  GEORGE  W.  SAMSON,  D.D., 

President  of  Columbian  College ,  Washington ,  D.  C. 
Dr.  George  H.  Napheys — 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  read  your  work,  u  The 
Transmission  of  Life,”  with  care,  as  has  my  son, 
who  is  a  practising  physician.  I  regard  it  as 
scholarly  in  its  discussion,  chaste  in  its  expres¬ 
sion,  and  unobjectionable  in  every  respect.  1 
cannot  but  commend  your  worthy  effort  in  this 
field,  where  faithful  instruction  is  so  needed. 

I  am,  truly, 

Your  friend  and  serv’t, 

GEO.  W.  SAMSON. 


xvi 


TESTIMONIALS. 


FROM  KEY.  WM.  A*  STEARNS,  D.  D.,  LL.D., 

President  of  Amherst  College ,  Amherst ,  Mass. 

Dr.  George  H.  Napheys — 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  read  the  advanced 
sheets  of  your  work  entitled  u  The  Transmission 
OF  Life.’’  It  is  a  difficult  subject,  which  you  have 
treated  with  propriety  and  success.  The  informa¬ 
tion  which  you  give  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  community,  and  especially  to  young  men; 
and  it  is  a  thousand  times  better  that  they  receive 
it  from  a  work  like  yours,  than  be  left  to  obtain 
it  from  sources  of  doubtful  influence,  or  from  bib 
ter  experience. 

Yery  respectfully, 

Your  ob’t  serv’t, 

W.  A.  STEARNS. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


XVU 


FROM  THE  REY.  SANSOM  TALBOT,  D.D., 

President  of  Denison  University ,  Granville ,  Ohio . 

“  1  have  read  carefully  the  advance  sheets  of 
1  The  Transmission  of  Life,7  and  most  heartily 
join  in  recommending  its  publication.  The 
candor  and  learning  of  the  author  are  very 
manifest;  the  information  imparted  is  just  that 
which  the  public  most  need,  and  the  moral 
tone  of  the  work  is  altogether  pure  and  elevate 
mg.” 


FROM  THE  REY.  W.  T.  STOTT, 

Acting  President  of  Franklin  College ,  Franklin , 

Indiana. 

“Having  examined  Dr.  Napheys’  ‘Transmis- 

* 

SION  OF  Life,’  I  cheerfully  recommend  it.  There 
is  certainly  great  need  of  such  information  on 
the  subjects  treated,  and  I  know  no  author  who 
has  succeeded  so  well  in  combining  information 
with  safe  advice.” 


xviii 


TESTIMONIALS. 


FROM  THE  REY.  J.  AYERY  SHEPHERD,  D.D., 

Head  Master  of  St.  Clement's  Hall ,  Ellicott  City ,  Md. 

“I  have  examined  Dr.  Napheys’  ‘Transmis¬ 
sion  of  Life’  with  a  good  deal  of  care.  The 
subjects  treated  of  are  not  merely  of  great  in¬ 
terest,  they  are  of  vital  importance.  But  the  mis¬ 
fortune  is  that  many  books,  in  discussing  these 
things,  are  calculated  to  do  harm,  rather  than 
good.  My  decided  impression  is  that  this  work 
will  do  goodf 


FROM  THE  REY.  CYRUS  NUTT,  D.D., 

President  of  Indiana  State  University. 

“I  know  of  no  work,  recently  issued  from  the 
press,  calculated  to  do  so  much  good  as  ‘  The 
Transmission  of  Life.’  It  contains  informa¬ 
tion  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  individual 
and  the  race7  and  should  have  a  wide  circula 
tionA 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xix 


FROM  ANDREW  D.  WHITE,  LL.D., 

President  of  Cornell  University. 

Geo-  H.  Napheys,  M.  D. — 

Dear  Sir  :  Accept  my  thanks  for  the  copy  of 
your  work,  “The  Transmission  of  Life.” 

Your  thoughtful  and  delicate  presentation  of 
the  subject  seems  to  me  to  merit  great  praise. 
That  your  discussion  will  do  much  good  I  firmly 
believe.  • 

I  am,  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

AND.  D.  WHITE. 

President’s  Rooms,  Ithaca,  N.  Y., 

April  20,  1871. 


.  FROM  PROF.  JOHN  S.  HART,  LL.D., 

Trenton ,  N.  J. 

Geo.  H.  Napheys,  M.  D. — 

Dear  Sir  :  The  examination  I  have  given^ 
lt  The  Transmission  of  Life”  has  impre^sed^e 
with  the  care  and  discretion  that  you  .fhave 
shown  in  the  treatment  of  a  very  difficult  subject. 

I  am  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  S.  HART 


XX 


TESTIMONIALS. 


FROM  PROF.  J.  ORDROXAUX,  LL.D.,  M.D. 

Professor  of  Physiology,  Pathology,  and  Medical 
Jurisprudence,  Columbian  College, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

“The  subject  treated  of  in  ‘The  Transmis¬ 
sion  of  Life’  is  certainly  one  of  increasing  im¬ 
portance  at  this  day,  from  the  popular  degrada¬ 
tion  it  has  undergone  at  the  bands  of  unprin- 
cipled  writers.  It  was  due,  therefore,  to  the  cause 
of  science,  no  less  than  morality,  that  some  com¬ 
petent  and  honorable  physician  should  reclaim 
it  from  the  slough  of  pollution  into  which  it 
had  been  dragged. 

‘'Your  work  bears  the  impress  of  religious 
«and  scientific  truth.” 


FROM  PROF.  HARVEY  L.  BYRD,  M.D., 

Professor  of  Obstetrics  in  the  Medical  Department 
of  Washington  University,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

My  dear  Doctor  :  You  have  done  your  work 
well.  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  the  lay- 


TESTIMONIALS. 


XNl 

members  of  every  intelligent  community  should 
be  educated  in  a  general  knowledge  of  the  laws 
of  life,  not  only  for  the  good  of  the  race,  but,  if 
you  please,  for  the  good  of  our  profession  also. 
Hence  I  indorse  your  efforts  in  this  direction. 

I  am,  with  high  esteem, 

Very  truly  yours, 

HARVEY  L.  BYRD. 


FROM  JOHN  H.  GRISCOM,  M.D., 

New  York  City. 

“  I  have  devoted  considerable  time  to  the  pe¬ 
rusal  of  4  The  Transmission  of  Life.’  Its 
numerous  and  important  subjects  have  been  no¬ 
where,  to  my  knowledge,  as  intelligently  and 
effectively  treated.  The  sanitary  advice,  so  well 
inculcated,  should  be  learned  by  every  individ¬ 
ual,  especially  by  parents  for  the  safety  of  their 
children.” 


2o 


xxii 


TESTIMONIALS. 


FROM  THE  PHILADELPHIA  MEDICAL  AND 
SURGICAL  REPORTER,  Feb.  4,  1871. 

“  Tbis  book  is  intended  to  meet  a  want  which, 
during  the  last  year,  has  been  urgently  expressed 
by  several  medical  and  literary  journals  in  this 
country  and  England,  namely,  to  place  before 
the  public,  in  popular  yet  irreproachable  lan¬ 
guage,  what  information  regarding  the  hygiene, 
nature,  uses,  and  abuses  of  the  procreative  func¬ 
tion  in  the  male,  is  necessary  to  protect  the 
individual  from  the  evil  consequences  of  his 
own  folly  or  ignorance.  It  will  readily  be  con¬ 
ceived  that  to  discuss  such  topics  clearly,  posi¬ 
tively,  and  with  benefit  to  the  lay  reader, 
requires  no  ordinary  tact ;  and  we  must  say  that 
the  author  has  succeeded  beyond  all  our  expec¬ 
tations.  No  one  can  possibly  be  harmed  by 
perusing  his  pages,  and  none  but  will  be  in¬ 
structed  and  benefited. 

“  The  work  is  characterized  throughout  by 
sound  scientific  views,  and  indicates  extensive 
and  careful  reading.” 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xxiii 


FROM  THE  AMERICAN  LITERARY 

GAZETTE, 

Philadelphia ,  March  15,  1871. 

11  We  feared  on  taking  np  this  work  to  find  it 

another  of  those  productions  of  which  there 
have  been  enough,  either  too  technical  to  be 
intelligible  to  the  general  reader,  or  filled  with 
vague  platitudes.  Such,  however,  is  far  from 
being  the  case.  It  treats  in  popular  and  forcible 
language  the  medical  aspects  of  some  of  the 
most  flagrant  vices  of  modern  life,  born  of  igno¬ 
rance  of  physiological  laws.  As  a  work  on  the 
preservation  of  individual  health  by  the  special 
prevention  of  those  disorders  peculiar  to  the 
male  sex,  it  is  filled  with  most  valuable  sug¬ 
gestions.  Many  eminent  educators  testify  to  its 
usefulness  and  elevated  moral  tone.  Those  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  author’s  ‘  Physical  Life 
of  Woman’  will  find  this  new  book  fully  equal 
to  that  very  popular  and  extraordinarily  suc¬ 
cessful  work,  to  which  it  may  be  said  to  form  a 


xxiv 


TESTIMONIALS. 


sequel,  being  addressed  to  the  other  sex.  We 
are  glad  to  see  that  able  physicians  are  coming 
forward  to  give  to  the  public  information  on 
subjects  of  such  interest  to  every  reading  man. 

“The  appearance  of  this  work,  by  a  physi¬ 
cian  and  writer  so  well  and  favorably  known  as 
Dr.  Napheys,  and  indorsed  by  eminent  members 
of  the  regular  profession,  educators,  and  divines, 
is  a  sign  of  the  decadence  of  the  exclusive  reign 
of  quackery  in  an  important  branch  of  personal 
hygiene.” 


FROM  THE  NEW  YORK  INDEPENDENT, 

March  30,  1811. 

“ 1  The  Tkansmission  of  Life’  treats  of  an 
important  and  difficult  subject  with  perfect  deli¬ 
cacy  of  thought  and  expression,  and  its  counsels 
are  eminently  sound  and  judicious.  It  is,  we 
believe,  calculated  to  do  great  good.” 


TESTIMONIALS. 


XXV 


FROM  THE  CHRISTIAN  SECRETARY, 

Hartford ,  March  15,  1871. 

“Dr.  Napheys,  author  of  ‘The  Physical  Life 
of  Woman,’  has  written  a  book  on  ‘the  nature 
and  hygiene  of  the  masculine  function.’  It  is  a 
delicate  topic,  but  one  upon  which  information, 
properly  communicated,  is  immensely  needed 
by  multitudes.  Dr.  Napheys  has  treated  it  with 
excellent  discretion,  and  his  book  comes  highly 
recommended  by  some  of  the  best  and  wisest 
men  among  us.  Its  perusal  may  save  thousand 
of  persons  from  untold  evils.” 


FROM  THE  COLLEGE  COURANT, 

New  Haven ,  Conn .,  April  8,  1871. 

“The  author  of  ‘The  Physical  Life  of  Wo¬ 
man’  has  even  surpassed  that  splendid  treatise 
by  the  masterpiece  before  us.  He  was  led  to 
commence  the  work  through  the  belief,  formed 
after  an  extensive  practice  in  a  large  city,  that 


xxvi 


TESTIMONIALS. 


the  present  amount  of  suffering  and  misery 
would  be  greatly  lessened  if  young  men  and 
those  having  the  care  of  boys  understood  clearly 
the  nature  and  hygiene  of  their  sex.  The 
papers  of  to-day  are  full  of  the  advertisements 
of  quack  doctors  and  quack  medicines,  so 
worded  as  to  excite  the  fears  and  gain  the  con¬ 
fidence  of  the  hundreds  of  sufferers,  who  endure 
untold  misery  in  secret  rather  than  consult  a 
physician  b}r  whom  they  are  known.  Once  in 
the  hands  of  these  impostors,  they  may  rest 
assured  that  they  will  not  escape  until  their 
money  or  their  lives  are  gone.  The  evils  which 
result  to  one  and  all  from  the  violation  of  the 
laws  of  this  function,  which  are  sometimes  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  parents  or  teachers,  but  generally 
in  a  vague  and  blind  manner,  Dr.  Napheys  has 
endeavored  to  treat  of  in  language  which  can  be 
readily  understood,  and  to  which  the  most  re¬ 
fined  cannot  object. 

“This  work  ought  to  be  in  every  one’s  library, 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xxvif 


in  every  family  throughout  the  country.  hTo 
young  man  should  be  without  a  copy  of  it.  It 
has  no  equal” 


FROM  THE  AGE, 

Philadelphia ,  April  24,  1811. 

“  These  are  topics  of  vast  importance,  which 
are  better  suited  for  private  reading  than  for 
public  discussion  on  the  platform,  or  in  the 
columns  of  the  newspaper.  A  knowledge  of 
them,  however,  is  essential  to  health  and  happi¬ 
ness.  This  knowledge  a  physician  of  our  city, 
of  high  character  and  standing,  has  put  within 
every  one’s  reach.  It  is  a  book  for  all  who  are 
of  age  to  understand  it.  Parents  will  find  in  it 
wise  cautions,  and  men,  young  and  old,  may 
acquire  from  it  precise  knowledge  of  the  physi¬ 
ology  of  the  most  important  natural  functions. 
In  language,  moral  tone,  and  purpose,  the  bcr*k 
is  unexceptionable/5 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xxviii 

FROM  THE  CHRISTIAN  RADICAL, 

Pittsburg  and  New  York,  May  13,  1871. 

“This  eminently  practical  work  supplies  a  want 
hitherto  felt  by  the  major  part  of  the  human 
family.  Ignorance  in  regard  to  the  care  and  use 
of  the  physical  functions  in  man  has  resulted  in 
untold  sufferings,  deranging  and  perverting  the 
system.  Formerly  there  was  no  alternative  but 
to  submit ;  now,  with  the  aid  of  this  excellent 
manual,  every  man  of  ordinary  intelligence  will 
know  how  to  take  care  of  himself;  and  the  hy¬ 
gienic  advice  imparted  in  its  pages,  if  put  into 
practical  use,  will  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to 
the  race.  It  is  a  book  that  should  be  read. 
Every  man  and  woman,  too,  will  be  the  better 
for  it.” 


FROM  THE  LUTHERAN  OBSERVER, 
Philadelphia ,  May  5,  1871. 

“The  subject  of  this  book  is  at  once  difficult, 
delicate,  and  dangerous;  and  Dr.  Napheys  has 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xxis 


been  singularly  successful  in  treating  it  in  a  way 
to  subserve  the  public  health  and  public  morals. 
It  is  both  scientific  and  practical.  Its  style  is 
clear  and  plain,  but  does  not  offend  the  most  re¬ 
fined  taste.  The  information  it  contains  is  of 
vital  importance  to  all,  but  especially  to  young 
men,  who  too  often  obtain  what  information  they 
have  on  the  subject  from  the  demoralizing  and 
licentious  publications  of  charlatans.  The  fear¬ 
ful  and  increasing  prevalence  of  certain  vices 
among  the  young,  to  which  all  physicians  bear 
witness,  requires  that  parents  and  teachers  should 
possess  the  knowledge  which  Dr.  Napheys’  book 
imparts,  and  should  conscientiously  consider 
their  duties  in  view  of  the  perils  which  are 
therein  revealed.” 


XXX 


TESTIMONIALS. 


FROM  THE  METHODIST, 

New  York ,  May  2  7,  1811. 

“ i  The  Transmission-  of  Life,’  by  Dr.  George 
H.  Napheys,  is  a  thorough  treatise  on  the  most 
important  physical  function.  It  furnishes  infor¬ 
mation  on  a  subject  on  which  correct  information 
is  much  needed,  which  deeply  concerns  all  men 
and  women  and  their  children.” 


FROM  THE  CHRISTIAN  ADYOCATE, 

Nashville ,  June  3,  1811. 

“The  delicate  and  difficult  subject  is  handled 
with  great  skill,  prudence,  and  fidelity.  The 
appalling  prevalence  of  licentiousness  in  all  its 
forms  in  our  country  shows  that  the  question 
must  no  longer  be  allowed  to  rest.  The  reticence 
and  fastidiousness  which  have  characterized  the 
pulpit,  the  press,  the  lecture-room,  etc.,  must 
give  way  to  earnest,  well-directed  efforts  to  stop 
the  plague,  which  is  sapping  the  foundations  of 
society. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


xxxl 


“We  call  earnestly  upon  parents,  pastors,  and 
teachers  to  watch  over  the  youth  committed  to 
their  care  with  the  utmost  vigilance,  so  as  to 
save  them  from  the  first  transgression — and  in 
order  to  this,  you  would  do  well  to  procure  this 
volume  and  give  it  a  serious  and  careful  perusal.7’ 


FROM  THE  PACIFIC  CHURCHMAN, 

San  Francisco ,  May  18,  1811. 

“  This  is  a  hook  for  honest,  God-fearing  men 
and  women.  Its  subject  is  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  and  sacred  in  the  world,  and  is  treated 
with  the  highest  scientific  and  professional 
ability ;  and,  what  is  more  important,  is  written 
from  a  Christian  stand-point.  It  is  one  of  the 
good  signs  of  the  times  that  such  matters  are 
written  upon  by  honest,  able  hands,  and  the  field 
not  abandoned  to  quacks.  Every  young  married 
couple  should  possess  and  read  it.” 


. 


